


For What it's Worth

by Anonymous



Series: Three Days of Happiness AU [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Home, It makes more sense if you just read, M/M, Poor Life Choices, Sharing a Bed, Slice of Life, The Author Regrets Nothing, Three Days of Happiness, can pass as a modern au probably, lowkey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:35:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 26,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28946019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: “Your time, your health, or your lifespan?”Rumor has it that there’s a little shop in the corner of the city that people come out of with large sums of money. But it doesn't deal in regular items, rather it offers three options: your time, your health, and your lifespan.The story of Bokuto, who sold his life, and Akaashi, who sold his time.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Series: Three Days of Happiness AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2196180
Comments: 9
Kudos: 32
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on "Three Days of Happiness" Sugaru Miaki. Also the manga adaption "I sold my life for ten thousand yen per year" with art by by Shouichi Taguchi.
> 
> Not necessary to read them before this fic but recommended to check it out! I change the rules a little but the shop's concept is the same.

“Your time, your health, or your lifespan?”

“Ooh...um, what?” The man who just entered the door stood there awkwardly, the bell chiming above him. He stayed still at the edge of the room such that his body was in the way of the door shutting completely. Pale blue eyes scanned the customer before replying, taking in the erratically spiked hair and disheveled clothing, as if the man just ran here.

“Pardon my bluntness, let’s try this again. Nice to meet you, my name is Akaashi,” the employee bowed, “This is a shop that specializes in peculiar trades. You surely came here to sell something right?”

“Um, right, my name’s Bokuto! Bokuto Koutarou! What were the choices again?”

Akaashi smiled stiffly, moving to the far counter, which was enough to coax Bokuto towards the middle of the room from his stance by the door, letting the door shut with a click. “Time, health, and lifespan. All prices are determined by the quality of the product. On average, lifespan sells for the most and time sells for the least.

“My lifespan then! It’s the best deal then right?”

Another lifespan seller, he thought. The most common transaction.

“I see, let me calculate that for a second.” Akaashi scanned the screen and looked back up at the customer. “You should be pleased with the results, your life costs about xxx per year. Will that be an acceptable estimate?”

“My life costs that much?”

A shrug. “I’ll admit, it’s higher than average. It’s calculated on projected values, of life satisfaction, success, and even things like the happiness you bring others.”

“Then I shouldn’t hesitate. Didn’t expect that much money at once, maybe I’ll sell off thirty years.” His voice wavered, looking over to Akaashi for confirmation, “Then I can still reach the prime of my life? Right?”

Akaashi faced the screen again, ready to speak again, maybe to persuade him not to sell that much, but then Bokuto beamed and Akaashi’s protests died in his throat.

“Of course, right away, Bokuto-san.”

“That’s it?”

Akaashi paused, staring at the screen. A measured smile as he took into account the sparkling eyes of their customer. “Of course, once I finish processing this, you can leave with all this money, in a card. Although it might take a bit, please be patient.” He motioned a hand at the chairs in the corner, next to an empty glass case.

Bokuto shot a quick thumbs up before scurrying off. With a deep breath, Akaashi proceeded to input the values, pulling out a card and pressing it to the computer screen, watching as the computer processed his request, humming softly as numbers printed itself on it, sealing the deal. 

“It’s fine,” he told himself, walking over to the waiting area, steps feather light as he tapped on the other’s shoulder. “Thank you for your patronage.”

“Oh? That was fast, hah, you scared me.” Bokuto promptly shut his phone and shot him another smile, “Thanks Akaashi. I owe you.”

He felt his lips tilting upwards, the energy was indeed infectious.

“No need for thanks, it’s my job. And--”

Bokuto shot up right out of his chair, taking the card with one quick swipe. “Shoot, I forgot today’s a Thursday! Ah, Akaashi what do I do? I was supposed to meet someone, who was it again, I’m so sorry, I’ll have to get going and I’ll see you again? Maybe? Probably not but, this was nice. Thanks.” With every word, the man grew further than further away, until he was finally cut off by the door clicking shut.

“And we need to go over the conditions,” Akaashi finished into the silence. A frustrated noise escaped his mouth as he slumped down into the chair that Bokuto was just on, ignoring how the seat was already warm from the other just being there moments ago.

As on cue, a side door next to the counter opened. A man with tan hair and a similar uniform to Akaashi’s stepped out, leaning against the counter and staring at the screen.

“Akaashi, what are you doing?”

His eyes darted over, pretending the voice didn’t scare him. Of course, it was just his coworker, or rather senior at the shop. Akaashi frowned, waving his hand nonchalantly as if it was nothing and headed to the back storage room, stuffing his items into a backpack. “What I’m paid to do, clearly.”

“Really? Your job is--”

“Stop questioning me, I’ll be heading out.”

The other’s eyes burned into Akaashi’s back. “Hope he’s worth it.”

“That’s what I’m going to find out.”

* * *

Two knocks on a worn-down door. The walls were quite thin, seeing as he could hear the rumbling thump of footsteps from his position. Akaashi raised an eyebrow as the door opened to reveal Bokuto who seemed like he just rolled out of bed. He almost grimaced at how stale the room smelled but resisted commenting on it by putting on his customer service smile. 

“I’ve come to review the terms and conditions with you.”

Bokuto faltered for a second, “Oh, um, it’s kind of a mess in here but, come on in. Make yourself at home.” Akaashi complied, brushing past Bokuto and toeing off his shoes. With a cursory glance around, he settled himself down on a chair in the corner. 

“First of all, I’ll be staying with you for a few months.”

“Huh?” His head turned around so fast Akaashi almost worried it would snap off.

Of course this was in the contract they were supposed to go over the day prior, but it was alright, he had it memorized by heart. “That’s my job, when people get large sums of money at once, they sometimes get reckless, especially knowing their lifespan has gotten shorter. I’m simply here to avoid that and also provide advice if needed. But pay me no mind, I will not interfere unless necessary. Also by contract, if you get too far from me, the exchange will be terminated.”

“Scary, so you’ll just be watching me?”

A nod, “And writing down some notes if you don’t mind,” he punctuated by pulling out a journal. “Don’t worry, it’s just for me to keep track of my clients. No part of this nor your personal information will ever be permitted outside of the store.”

Bokuto nodded vigorously, still wide eyed. “And the card?’

“Ah, right the card. It can be used like a credit card; it’s connected to an external source that will perform the transaction. If you want to check the amount you have left, I’ll be able to assist you with that in private. You can always return to the store for further transactions, which I will also be able to aid you with during my stay. Any further questions?”

“Um, how long is a few months? That you’re staying I mean.”

“As long as I need to report back to the organization that you are stable with your current living status. They have a reputation to keep up after all. Which leads me to ask, what are your plans with all this money?”

Akaashi opened his notebook, ready to jot down the plan but was met with silence. He peaked up, “Bokuto-san?” Golden eyes were downcast.

“I don’t know.”

Ah, Akaashi thought, letting the words filter through his head. “Yet, Bokuto-san.” He set the notebook down, walking over to where Bokuto stood by the bed and rested a hand on the other’s shoulder. “I’ll help you figure it out, don’t worry. You have time to figure this out.” It was uneasy to see the other so quiet after he was so exuberant the day prior. Akaashi took mental note of that.

“Thanks, Akaashi.”

“Of course,” he murmured, patting Bokuto’s back reassuringly. It’s my job after all, his mind supplied, but it wasn’t the time for that. “Come on, let’s start easy and get something to eat. Will that be alright?”

Bokuto agreed, pulling Akaashi in a tight hug, which Akaashi would be lying if he said he expected that. But he’d also be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it.

“How does some ramen sound?”

A half hour later, they were leaving Bokuto’s home. Admittedly, it should've taken much less time but Akaashi had to sit in silence in the corner as Bokuto rummaged around looking for a specific shirt and a comb for him to perfect his spiky hair. For someone who typically took five minutes tops in the morning, Akaashi felt a headache coming. Another note was jotted down:  _ Get Bokuto-san to organize everything. Or I’ll do it myself. _

But at last, they were heading off, taking the short trip to the station and then heading off. 

“Hey Akaashi, want the seat?”

“No thank you, I’ll stand. It’ll be a short ride.”

“Alright, I’ll stick with you then!” Bokuto announced, leaning against Akaashi.

Akaashi gently pushed the other back to a standing position and turned around to acknowledge the hushed whispers behind their backs. “I’d recommend against talking so loudly to me in public. Other people who have not made deals with the shop cannot see me.”

“Huh? But you’re right here?”

A frown, “You look like you’re talking to no one. There’s no point; I said to ignore me unless you needed help.”

“But I enjoy talking to you!”

Akaashi hummed, “Suit yourself.” He wasn’t the one being judged after all. But it was new to be accommodated, to be recognized when all his previous jobs, the customer has ignored him as he requested. It’s not like he minded, but it was just unfamiliar. Especially after he’s only held a conversation for business for the longest time.

And even during the walk towards the restaurant, Bokuto continued to speak mindlessly about his day, waving his arms animatedly in the air.

It was endearing, Akaashi found himself thinking, listening with rapt attention. And even if he was silent, he nodded along to signal he was listening. Tiny expressions he would otherwise not even bother with other clients as none of them cared enough to speak to him.

“And we’re almost there, come on!” 

They stood at the end of the street, next to a laundromat on the corner. A rather strong scent of detergent filled the air. Bokuto pointed forward a few shops to a sign with a little ramen bowl drawn on it.

“Table for how many?” A waitress greeted them as the door opened.

Bokuto held up two fingers in a peace sign, “Two!”

“Two? Are you waiting for someone?”

“One,” Akaashi said, providing the answer.

“One,” Bokuto parroted in correction.

The waitress blinked a few times in confusion before waving them over to a little booth in the back, “Of course, let me know if you want any refreshment and also let me know when you are ready to order.” She bowed politely and scurried back to the kitchen.

Bokuto seemed unfazed by interaction even though secondhand embarrassment was eating Akaashi up inside. He didn’t let it affect his customer service, settling down across the table and handing a menu to Bokuto.

Bokuto scanned it as if it was an exam, deep in concentration. It left Akaashi a moment of silence to jot down:  _ Find a solution to chatting to self.  _ “You think it’s cheating if we order the one person challenge meal? If we finish in time, it’ll be free.”

He looked up from his notebook, “Yes, and also I said you didn’t need to think about me.”

“But you still have to eat right?”

“Well yes, but the shop typically provides for that knowing we can’t order personally. I’ll just give them a call and--”

“It’ll be fun, c’mon.”

Akaashi pursed his lips but once again was a victim to those pleading eyes. “Fine.”

“Well it’s decided,” Bokuto announced cheerfully as if he didn’t break every single rule Akaashi had made for himself, waving the waitress back over. “We’ll have one of the extra large bowls, the one with the time challenge.” 

And true to its name, the extra large bowl was stacked full. Like toweringly tall. It was a ridiculous amount of food for two people, let alone one person. Never in his life did Akaashi think he’d even face one of these, but here he was, clasping his hands together and taking a hesitant first bite. It was delicious to their credit, but then again can anything stay delicious when it's eaten in such large proportions all at once? Well, he was about to find out. 

In the end, Bokuto still consumed more than half the bowl. It was quite the feat. Akaashi groaned to himself. Too full.

“Congratulations!” the waitress applauded happily, “It’s been a while since someone’s completed the challenge. Come over, we’ll take a picture and add you to the wall to commemorate!”

Bokuto’s owl eyes stared at Akaashi.

“Go ahead, it’s a one person challenge, remember?”

“Right away,” Bokuto scrambled out of his chair, scratching the back of his head abashedly as he stood against the wall, holding up the bowl in his other hand.

The waitress positioned a little polaroid camera, “1-2-3, smile!” A pause, “I think you blinked in that one, how about one more? 1-2-3, smile! And perfect.” She set them on the table to let them develop as the black film slowly took form, the outlines of a man standing slightly positioned to the left of the frame, eyes seeming to drift past the camera.

Oh, he was looking at me, Akaashi realized. 

Once the pictures finished developing, the waitress pinned the second one up, “I’ll just trash this second one, thanks for your patronage. Hope to see you back soon!”

As she turned around, Akaashi made use of his nonexistence and nabbed the photo, slipping it into his notebook as Bokuto led the way out of the store. Surely they wouldn’t notice one misplaced picture, right? He wasn’t sure what possessed him in that moment to grab it, but it was just there. And it was just because it would be a waste to throw away, he convinced himself. It was still a precious photo after all. There was no further reason.

The cool air on his hot face said otherwise, but that must've just been from the weather.

The walk back to the station was fairly similar to when they walked there, Bokuto began to talk immediately and they got a few glances because his voice had no filter. But it didn’t seem to bother Bokuto at the slightest. Akaashi on the other hand, felt that sinking guilt once again, racking his brain to think of ways to solve the problem. 

Nearing the station, something finally clicked in his mind. 

“Wait here,” Akaashi instructed as he slipped into a convenience store, rushing to the front and picking out a set of earbuds. He slipped out his own card, nearly identical to the one Bokuto had except it had different numbers on it. The register employee couldn’t see him but he paid for the item with a quick tap on the screen.

Once his purchase was complete he made his way back, already tearing apart the packaging on his way. It was nothing fancy, a pair of wired earbuds, plain and black in color. But it’ll do its job.

He stood in front of Bokuto, disregarding their height difference as he reached up and settled the earbud wire over the other’s neck. Then tenderly, he reached around, brushing the shell of the other’s ear while slotting a single bud in. The other end of the cord hung lifelessly on Bokuto’s chest until Akaashi slipped out his own phone and connected the jack.

“If people see this, they’ll think you're in a call, then you can talk to me,” he explained, pointing at the microphone extension to the cord.

Bokuto blinked in stunned silence, hand reaching up to hover over his ear. 

“It’s not much, but I think it’ll help?”

“Akaashi, has anyone ever told you that you’re a genius?” Bokuto exclaimed, reaching out to envelop him into a hug. Well more like completely crush him in a hug but it only took Akaashi a moment's hesitation before returning the gesture, fingers twitching as they took the time to find a place to settle down on Bokuto’s back.

No, nobody has ever told me that, he wanted to say but instead he teased, “The earbuds solve the chatting issue, but you still look like you’re hugging air.”

“Ack, that’s embarrassing,” Bokuto chuckled, sending vibrations through both of them, yet neither of them attempted to break apart.

* * *

“Good morning, Bokuto-san, would you like some coffee?”

“Hm? Akaashi? How are you already awake? Did you even sleep?” Bokuto murmured into his pillow sleepily. Half asleep for sure. 

“Yes I did, would you like some coffee?” Akaashi repeated, moving through the cabinets and taking out a second cup. The kitchen was as messy as the rest of the house, which was a blessing and a curse at the same time. The good thing was he could randomly open a drawer and find a cup regardless but the downside was he had no idea which one was the sugar.

“Sure, add a bit of sugar.”

The first one he tried to take a taste of was salt, unlucky. Second one he dipped his finger in also turned out to be salt. By then he almost settled on black coffee but the third time's a charm and he ended up with the sugar.

“Come on,” Akaashi coaxed the other awake by bringing the coffee over and setting it by his bedside. “It’s a new day.”

“You never got me coffee before, what’s the special occasion?” Bokuto muttered, reaching up and trying to grab the cup, only to find his fingers tangled in Akaashi’s hair instead. Lazily, he pulled the other closer and smiled. “What’s up, Akaashi?”

Akaashi bit his lip to stall, taking note of how dangerously close their faces were as his mouth caught up with his mind, “I just found out you had a coffee machine today. It’s been over a week and I still find surprises around your house.”  
Bokuto chuckled at that, breath tickling Akaashi’s cheek. 

“Get up, Bokuto-san, how about we clean up around here today?” He lightly tugged Bokuto’s pajama shirt to help the other up. “You’ll feel better in a clean environment. We have plenty of money to remodel if you want.” He silently cursed himself for making it sound so domestic, hoping that it was missed or forgotten when Bokuto eventually woke up.

Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case because suddenly Bokuto shot right out of bed, “Wait no. Don’t clean up here.”

Confused, Akaashi asked “Why?”

“Because I want to move!”

“To?” Akaashi almost feared the answer. If it was in the middle of nowhere, he was ready to bail out of the job entirely, screw that. Or even worse, if it was some exotic out of the world idea Bokuto thought of that was entirely implausible. He just knew those thoughts ran through Bokuto’s mind at least once or twice based on his behavior from the past week.

“The city?” A breath of relief. “The day we met, I left early to meet a friend who said he could get me a place. I kind of was hoping to get the money to do that?”

Thank whatever entity was out there that the request was reasonable. 

“Of course, you have plenty of money now, don’t even worry about working for the next few years. But for long term reasons, I do recommend getting a job. That’s a start.” Mentally he sighed in relief, knowing he wouldn’t need to tidy up the whole apartment. Yet that was short lived as he realized he now had to help the moving process. “Shall we start by finding a new apartment?”

Bokuto finally sat up in bed and nodded enthusiastically, “My friend has already been trying to figure that out. I can give him a call, see if he can drive down and chat about it.”

“That’ll be a good start.”

And that’s how two hours later, they got situated in a video call with, well a chair with said owner somewhere in the background. But all they saw on the screen was a chair for the first few minutes. Fun. 

“Are you sure this friend of yours is reliable?”

“I trust my bro with my life, just give him a second. Oh, by the way his name’s Kuroo before you ask. He’s like one of those businessmen types. We met online back in high school and have been friends since. Kind of forgot I can’t introduce you.”

Akaashi nodded, jotting down the name under a new page of his notebook titled ‘contacts’.

By the time he glanced back up, there was a man sitting in the chair, legs crossed and leaning back casually. “Yo Bokuto, what’s up? Are you coming or not?” The man was about their age, spiked black hair and loose fitting clothing.

“Is that apartment still on the market? I got the money now.”

Kuroo raised an eyebrow, “To buy? Last time I checked you were like broke, no offense. What happened? Did you win the lottery all of a sudden and didn’t care to share?” He lowered his voice and glanced around dramatically and whispered, “Or did you do something illegal bro?”

“Um, it's kind of a long story,” Bokuto admitted. “But totally legal I swear.” Frantically he glanced at Akaashi and mouthed ‘right?’ 

Akaashi stuck up a quick thumbs up. Legal as far as he knew at least.

“Well then, yeah the apartment is still up, I can get you settled in within a month. How’s that sound? I’ll send you the details for the down-payment and everything in a PDF through email. And just for you, I’ll deal with all the details so don’t worry bro.”

“Thanks bro I owe you.”

Kuroo smirked, “Buy me some lunch one day when you come to the city. Warning I eat a lot though so prepare your wallet. And hey, let me know if you need anything else, I know my way around here you could say. See you, I’ll get working on the deal now.”

“Talk to you later.” With that, he ended the call and turned to Akaashi, “How about that?”

“It’s your choice really. I have no say in what you do with your money. All I am here to do is assist when necessary and make sure you aren’t being reckless with your life.” It was a line he recited often and looking back it might’ve sounded a little cold.

“But you’re coming with me right?”

“That is my job.”

Bokuto tilted his head, confused, “Then shouldn’t you have a say in where we live?”

“I said to pay me no mind” Akaashi repeated, correcting Bokuto’s sentence in his head to delete the plural possessive; it was going to be Bokuto’s new apartment, not theirs. “I’ll be fine as long as I have some space.”

“Speaking of which, where have you been sleeping? There’s only one bed in my room and I don’t have a couch. Plus, you always sleep after and wake before me.”

He pointed at the corner of the room, “There.”

“There’s nothing there?”

“Exactly.”

Bokuto gasped loudly, attempting to cover the noise with his hands but failing terribly. “Don’t worry it’s fine,” Akaashi said waving his hands frantically, “It’s really fine I said you didn’t need to accommodate me and I’ve already dealt with this plenty of times.”

“I’m a terrible person,” Bokuto began to wail into his hands, “It’s been a week and I let you sleep on the floor? Akaashi, please take my bed. Please take everything. Please forgive me. Oh no, will you ever forgive me? I’ve been horrible to you. You must hate me by now--”

“Bokuto-san, please, it’s fine just calm down I would never hate you.”

“But take my bed to repent for all my mistakes.”

Akaashi shook his head, “It is yours. I insist you sleep in your own bed. I am accustomed to these conditions, if you try to sleep on the floor you’ll wake up with a sore neck.” Bokuto began to protest again and they went back and forth for minutes.

“Share the bed, final offer,” Bokuto announced.

It was better than nothing, “Fine.”

“Fine,” Bokuto repeated, staring at the bed. It was pushed to the wall and rather shabby. It surely didn't  _ look _ like it could hold two grown adults. “Which side do you want?”

And there was the regret, Akaashi’s brain commented sarcastically. He was never going to survive these months was he? Scratch that, he wasn’t going to survive one night. “I’ll take the side by the edge. So I can wake up without disturbing you.”

“Alright! I’ll be by the wall.”

That night, they crammed together on the bed like promised. It was a tight fit, but it was what it was. With their backs turned away from one another, it was hardly noticeable that there was someone else there, Akaashi told himself. Yet it became fairly evident his body did not listen to that as it refused to let him rest.

Long story short, Akaashi did not sleep at all that night.

* * *

“You look um--”

Akaashi met his eyes, unamused due to his fatigue, “Terrible, I’m aware. Give me a moment to get some coffee and we can talk after.”

Bokuto only nodded, fear evident in his eyes.

Nimble hands started up the coffee machine while also turning on the stove to make a quick meal. One all nighter shouldn’t affect him that much. Yet his eyes felt heavy and his arms heavy. Despite that, he worked his way through it, downing the cup of coffee right as it was made, not even bothering to add any sweetener that day.

Before Bokuto could speak, he raised his hand. “No, it's not your fault.”

“But you couldn’t sleep. Were you cold? Was the bed too hard? Did I do anything weird in my sleep? Tell me, we can fix it.”

“Nothing was wrong.” A sigh. 

“We could buy a new bed, a bigger one. We have money now right--”

Akaashi cut him off, “There is no  _ we _ in this. It’s your money, your life, don’t go wasting it on someone like me. Besides, just give it a few days, I was just not familiar with it. That’s it.” He took out his notebook and got back to business. “So we have a month till you plan to move, any last things you want to get done in this small town before leaving? Any people to say goodbye to?”

Bokuto must’ve said something in response, but Akaashi was distracted by three new lines in his notebook he must’ve written last night and forgotten: 

> (1) _ Be careful with his mood, prone to change on short notice  _
> 
> (2) _ Don’t play with said emotions (like fire) _
> 
> (3) _ We are customer and client, there is no need to accommodate _

Angrily, he ripped the page out. Stupid late-night thoughts. “Pardon me, could you repeat that Bokuto-san, I’m afraid I missed that.”

“Right um, I said not really?”

It was unexpected considering Akaashi assumed Bokuto had lots of friends based on his charismatic personality. “None at all? Family? Friends? Lovers? Neighbors? Ex-classmates? Nothing wrong with it but ”

Bokuto fiddled with his fingers, “My family doesn’t live around here, I moved out after high school and have been independent since. I don’t think I kept in contact with many people after then, kind of just...” He extended his fingers out from his palm. “Like poof, vanished.” 

“So you just want to leave this all behind? It doesn’t have to be someone; it could be just a place you really want to see one last time. Somewhere you want to eat? Shop at?”

A slow nod. A moment of wavering. “On a second thought. There is one place I want to go.”

“And that is?”

“It’ll be a surprise for another day! I decided that before we go, I also want to show you around! So you can know more about me.”

_ You don’t have to _ . The voice in his head repeated over and over but this time, he said “Sure.”

And so a week went by. Monday to the river, Tuesday to the hill overlooking the school, Wednesday to a park by the apartment, Thursday to a vending machine in the middle of street which was supposedly haunted, Friday to the library which Bokuto admitted to not actually studying in, Saturday to a small corner cafe, and Sunday to a public garden with blooming flowers. 

No one seemed to recognize them at any of these places and they could almost pass as tourists with Bokuto’s erratic haircut and lack of non-flashy clothing. So some looks were tossed his way, yet Bokuto held up his facade of talking on the phone, deterring anyone from questioning. 

Outside of these activities, they went about their days. For example, they went shopping together and prepared meals together. The first time shopping truly was an experience as Bokuto learned how to use the card issued by the shop, gasping in such awe that the cash register almost doubted the legitimacy of the card. Fortunately, nothing happened past that and he didn’t need to interfere. And that was only for a small purchase... 

Besides that, Akaashi was the more experienced chef so he normally dealt with the meals --It wasn’t too much of a hassle considering he’s always been cooking for himself so just doubling the recipe wasn’t hard-- but Bokuto did have the skills that allowed him to survive all these years along. 

Each day had its own entry in Akaashi’s notebook, a page each detailing where they went and everything he learned about his client that he came to regard as his friend. And for the first time, he was able to fall asleep on the bed.

As the second week came, Bokuto finally announced, “One week break. Then we visit the one place I want. After that, we pack for moving.”

“Sounds like a plan. Are you still not telling me where?”

“You’ll find out!”

* * *

The next week flew by just as fast as the first. Then the following Monday came and Akaashi woke to the sound of plates clanging in the kitchen. It came as a shock to him because not once has he woken up second in an unfamiliar environment.

That woke him from his daze as he shot up and ran over to the kitchen, hoping to get cooking before Bokuto got hungry, but instead was amazed to see two plates of food on the table.

Squinting, he rubbed his eyes. “Is this a fucking dream?”

“Huh?”

Bokuto sat at one end of the table, already munching away. Akaashi continued to stand in the doorway in silence. “Um, I’ve never heard you curse before? But you looked comfy, so I let you sleep in for a bit. Is everything alright?”

He just continued to stare in disbelief, half in the fact that he slept in so long there was already food on the table and half in the fact  _ this was for him _ . “Please excuse my rudeness, my brain is still waking up. Give me a moment.” Rushing to the bathroom, he shut and locked the door, going directly to the sink and splashing a whole handful of water in his face. “Why would you say that?” he groaned at the mirror. “He’s just trying to be considerate. Get your brain together.”

One more splash of water in his face, this time also combing his hand through his hair. One final breath and he went back out. 

“Good morning, Bokuto-san.”

“Hi Akaashi!”

He returned to the table as if nothing just happened, changing the topic instantly, “It is the third week of this month, are we going to this last place you were speaking of?”

“Yup! I called the family and they said I could drop by.”

Akaashi blinked, “I thought you said there was no one you wanted to visit?”

“Well, it’s sort of like that. You see--”

A two hour walk later and he began to understand. Well as far as he could assume from the fact they were in front of a small home that seemed to double as a store judging by the window sign. Bokuto stopped there so at least they had reached their destination but beyond that, Akaashi was still lost. But when the door swung open and a chorus of  _ meows _ rang out, he got it.

“You’re visiting a cat?”

“Yup! Hope you aren’t allergic.” Bokuto joked as he pushed open the door, then looked back in terror, “Wait actually, are you allergic to cats? That would be--”

“No, I’m not,” Akaashi interrupted. “Let’s go.” 

They both stepped inside, one after another. A woman who appeared in her late thirties appeared from the back and greeted them, “You must be Bokuto-san, my mom has been expecting you. Too bad she’s not in right now, but you can go visit your feline friend in the back room. Holler if you need anything!”

Bokuto waved in response, heading back with such familiarity that Akaashi assumed he had been here at least several times. They went all the way down the hall, Akaashi’s eyes darting around their surroundings at all the cat toys and closets of food; Bokuto was unfazed and only had the far door in his eyes.

And as they pushed that door open, a blur of orange fur leapt at them. Bokuto opened his arms invitingly even as Akaashi jumped back in surprise. The cat landed on Bokuto’s chest with, head tilted up and gazing back.

“Aw, look at you.” Bokuto cooed, picking the orange fur ball up and setting her down. 

“And who’s this?” Akaashi asked after his initial shock, crouching down so he could have a better look at the cat which was purring under Bokuto’s touch. She had an orange-yellow hued fur with splotches of white and dashing green eyes. 

“Mm, she doesn’t have an official name, but I’ve been calling her Mango!” He reached down to scratch the cat’s chin, “I found this little one abandoned one day and took care of her for a few weeks before realizing I didn’t know how. I put up some of those lost posters and when no one claimed her, I put up posters for adoption and got a call from this family that took her in with the rest of their rescues. I told them I’ll be back if I ever want to take her in again but seems unlikely now.”

“You can take her with us though?”

Bokuto picked up Mango and allowed her to nuzzle his cheek. She seemed to take great interest in the earphones that still dangled from his ears, batting at them curiously. “Nah, I wouldn’t be able to give her the home she deserves. She’s a baby, someone will come around and see that soon enough and adopt her. So I’m saying goodbye.”

“I see.”

He observed the interaction from afar, leaving the two to say their goodbyes, knowing how personal that must be, even if the cat might not understand the weight of the words. In the background, he jotted down his own notes. 

He started a page for people he met during this time, jotting down  _ Mango- the cat he rescued, close connection but unable to take her along  _ next to an entry on Kuroo. Flipping back a few pages, he added to his page on Bokuto’s traits:  _ considerate to everyone, always and non-exclusively. Cares too much for his well-being (?) _ He debated the last sentence carefully before leaving it.

Further down, he wrote his own thoughts:  _ Why does he care for me like I’m more than an observer? Because he cares too much. Why do I care?  _ He didn’t finish that thought.

“Akaashi? Ready to go?”

“Whatever suits you, Bokuto-san,” he stood, brushing off his pants. Akaashi took one last look at Mango and wished her goodbye too, not knowing if she could even see him.

As they stepped out, Bokuto briefly explained his moving situation with the girl they saw earlier and they both bowed to each other with understanding. Akaashi bowed with him, murmuring ‘thank you for taking care of Bokuto-san’ even if it would be unheard.

The walk back was mostly silent: Akaashi allowed Bokuto the time to let go.

He wasn’t the one walking away from something he cared about, he had just met that cat moments ago, but he knew all too well what it felt like. 

When they reached the apartment doors, Bokuto whispered silently, “I don’t think I would’ve been able to say goodbye by myself, so thank you for being here for me.”

“ _ Of course, Bokuto-san. _ ”

* * *

“So how did you end up doing this? How long have you been um, watching people?”

Akaashi glanced up from the stove for a bit, registering the question. It was the middle of yet another uneventful day when the question was popped. As he’d been asked that before he answered with ease, “I did the same thing as you, I went to the shop and made a deal. I sold my time. I guess I’ve been around almost half a decade now, seen several people go through their lives.”

Bokuto propped himself up from his position on the couch. “But what about your family?”

“They think I’m working abroad, the shop provided me with a cover story.” He shrugged it away, he never gave it much thought past it. 

“But why did you agree?”

Another shrug. “I suppose I just didn’t have any better options.”

“I mean I guess the same with me but you’re smart, didn’t you have a job or way to find money? If I had met you before I would’ve assumed you had found your way in the world. You know? Just based on looks.”

“Hm,” Akaashi hummed, “I’ll tell you over dinner, how about that? Meanwhile, tell me why are you, also a fairly well-off person, selling your lifespan?” 

Admittedly, he’d seen Bokuto’s earnings prior while flipping through some documents the shop provided him and brushed it off. But now, mentally calculating the numbers, they didn’t add up; there was no reason someone like Bokuto needed to sell time if that was how much he was making every year, even after quitting his job for a while.

“How  _ did _ you get yourself into this predicament in the first place?”

He looked up to see Bokuto fumbling with his fingers and averting his eyes. “Um, taxes?”

“Really?” Akaashi couldn’t help but let a light chuckle slip from his lips.

He assumed Bokuto would pout and whine back at his remark, maybe fall into a little ignoring phase and not speak until he told his own story, but instead he received a voice of quiet awe, “That’s the first time you laughed.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not making fun of you.” He corrected promptly. “There’s nothing wrong with that and I can help you sort those out--”

In the same soft tone, “Your laugh is pretty.”

Akaashi felt heat rise up to his ears, ducking his head down and pretending that the stir fry in the pan was that much more interesting to avoid further comments. No more comments came to his salvation and slight disappointment. In fact, the topic was avoided altogether as he set the table and went back to his prior agreement.

“So I heard about the store about the same way you did...”

* * *

Rumor has it that there’s a little shop in the corner of the city that people come out of with large sums of money. They claim it's the devil’s exchange, trading your life for money. People go there in hopes of achieving a dream, a goal, a legacy but also fear the price to pay. Another whispered secret is that people tend to vanish mysteriously around there. 

The fear leads most people to avoid it like the plague. Yet, it continues to live on the deals it secures despite no one knowing where all that money is from.

Of course he had heard the rumors, and of course he held a slight bit of skepticism for the instantaneous solution of money. Yet Akaashi, at the beginning of his job, was helpless enough to seek its help. One week, he spent collecting the rumors, piecing together what the shop dealt with as if analyzing an enemy. 

Then, that’s how he ended up on that doorstep. And selling his time. 

The bell above the door signaled his entrance. Just as the door shut behind him, a voice spoke up from his left. “Your time, your health, or your lifespan?”

Warily he replied, “Time.”

His eyes trailed around the room. It was almost bare, other than a few glass displays that were also strangely empty. All that was really there was a counter, a cash register on the far wall. The employee walked them over to that counter, “Mm. Interesting choice.” He did a quick scan of the man, on his guard immediately.

“Is it your job to question?”

The employee smirked, “Nah, but it gets boring around here, good to see new faces. We haven’t gotten a new worker for years. Many people are faster to sell off other parts, not many who want to sell time. So what’s your story?”

“Student debt from college is still an issue. I am, or I was an editor, for an unknown novel. Nothing good came out of it, and I don’t have the means to go anymore so I just need money. I’m willing to put in the work.”

The man whistled appreciatively, “Hardworking I see. Well as long as you know all the conditions.” A paper slid in front of him, “We’ll be good to go by your cue. This goes over all the listing and what you will have to do with your time. I’m supposed to be reading it to you, but you seem like you want silence, Editor-san.”

With a cursory glance, Akaashi could summarize it easily:  _ Observe others, the quality of said job determines the cost of your time _ . And the fact he would be gone to the world. Honestly, much better conditions than he expected as he agreed. The man grinned, typing in something at that computer then a card was chucked into his hands.

“Welcome to the shop. Nice to meet you, Konoha. Akinori Konoha.”

A small bow. “Akaashi. Akaashi Keiji. I’ll be in your care.”

* * *

“That’s it?”

“Did you expect more?” He rested his chopsticks down and turned his body to face Bokuto. The latter was still eating, speaking through bites.

“Not really, I just thought you had different reasons than me. Being desperate I mean.”

Was he that desperate back then after all? It was probably the pilling stress of work and the lack of sleep that pushed him there. Plus, his first employer wasn’t the nicest person, but he left out those details or else he’d surely worry his audience. “We’re all a little desperate inside.”

“What about that man that greeted you? Um, Konoha?”

“Ah, yes he still works with me after all this time so you’ll probably see him around. No one quite knows why he’s been at the shop for so long, but that’s his story, not mine to tell.” Akaashi did make note to ask the other when he got the time. It never came up in their conversations before so he used to pay it no mind. “He was the one who showed me the ropes of the job. Helped me with my first client that I watched for a few months.”

“And after that?”

Akaashi waved at the now empty dishes and Bokuto nodded. He began to pile them up and bring them over to the sink. “I did what I had to, watched others live out their lives.”

“And how were those other people’s lives?”

“Pretty uneventful honestly. One tried to use all the money to win the lottery, another spent it all on luxury items, but then there are mostly the normal ones that just want to live comfortably like you. Most paid me no mind so I did the bare minimum observation.”

Bokuto somehow snuck up on him during this time, popping up next to the sink and asking, “Ooh, does that mean I’m your favorite?”

He blinked, “There is no competition.”

“But am I?”

“I suppose you are, Bokuto-san.”

“Hurray! I win!”

He let out a chuckle. It was childish and he didn’t believe in favorites for a majority of his life until now. Maybe he was showing a bit of favoritism for the boy that caught his eye when he stepped in the store and continued to perform above and beyond his expectations. “Any other questions before you sleep?”

“It’s not late yet,” Bokuto complained, though knowing full well they didn’t chat much after, just drifting to their own tasks until they ended up wound together for the night. “But what happens when you’re done?” He waved in Akaashi’s general direction. “With the time thing.”

It was written in the paper he read, and despite it being years, he remembered it as clear as day because it was something he looked forward to. “When my debt of time is up, the world will be able to see me again. I’ll be free to go back to the world that I once knew.”

“And will you come back? Will I be able to see you?”

“Don’t be silly, you can already see me, Bokuto-san.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This series has a much larger audience than I thought? Just based on twitter search so lol that’s cool; I need to buy the novel. I really planned to read the novel before I wrote this but then um I didn't have the means of getting it so yeah. But still, this has been in my drafts for SO long and SO MUCH thought went into this. I was ready to analyze my own fic I swear
> 
> I'm just posting it now because wow this is the longest project I've ever done and I know like 26K words isn't a lot to others but it is to me
> 
> Anyone who knows the original source knows there is quite a bit of discrepancy already but hey I made up some rules myself and made it make sense. There were some tweaks needed and no I don't follow the manga that much.


	2. Chapter 2

They eventually got a call back from Kuroo saying everything was in order for them to move. An address and housing agreements were sent to them and Akaashi spent hours reading through the fine print until he was satisfied and confirmed it was legitimate.

The week after, they started packing up all their belongings. Moving out was fine, just a little tiring. It would’ve been worse if they weren’t tag teaming the issue: he was the one sorting all the boxes and Bokuto was mostly just bringing items from other rooms and throwing out anything he didn’t need anymore.

Day one was sorting out the bedroom plus the closet. They found far too many articles of clothing that couldn’t fit Bokuto anymore. And despite some of them fitting Akaashi, yes he tried, they opted to throw it out because it was way too flashy for his tastes. Alongside that, he found a sealed box labeled “HIGH SCHOOL” in sharpie.

Curiosity got the better of him as he opened it and rummaged through, finding a yearbook which he discovered Bokuto’s haircut has stayed the same all these years, and some old photos. 

“Akaashi where’d you put--” Bokuto entered the room, hands full of notebooks. His eyes zoned into the box. “Oh.”

Embarrassed, Akaashi attempted to shove the contents back in there. “Yes, Bokuto-san?”

“Um, I was going to ask where you put the notebooks, but it’s alright I guess.” He settled down and reached into the box. “I forgot I put this in here.” He flipped through the photos, landing on one of a high school team.

“You played?”

“Volleyball. I quit after though. I mean our team was great, but we lacked a good leader to keep up together and we kind of fell out of it by third year. It was fun, but...” He trailed off, putting the pictures back. “That was it.”

A nod of understanding as he reached for his journal. “If you feel down to do it again, we can put playing volleyball on your things to do with your remaining lifespan list. Like a to-do list or bucket list if you want.”

Bokuto seemed to think about it for a bit, “Nah, it’s just not the same.”

The notebook closed. “Very well.”

“I actually miss high school a lot. Back then I didn’t have to worry about all this.” Bokuto announced, almost in a whine. “How about you, Akaashi? How was your high school? I bet you were one of those silently diligent students.”

Akaashi paused to think. Honestly, he didn’t remember much from his high school years, nothing stood out. It was all a blur of studying, flashcards, late nights. There wasn't anything that pulled him and called him to give his best, so he just faded into the background. So he lied, “You’re right, I was just like that.”

“Hah, I knew it,” Bokuto exclaimed, passing the photos back to Akaashi, their fingers brushing for the slightest moment. They both paused awkwardly, staring into one another’s eyes before Akaashi coughed lightly.

“The notebooks are with the books. Box to the left. I’ll clean this up.”

“Right, right.”

Most other things in the bedroom were left for later. The bed had seen better days so they decided to trash that and buy a new one later. Everything else was mostly self explanatory, leaving the work table for later but taking everything off of it and also taking all the books off the shelf, despite there not being many.

Day two was similar, clearing out the bathroom and kitchen(other than a few dishes they needed till the last day). Day three was for the main area and the last remaining details. By the end of that day, everything was set into boxes and most of the furniture Bokuto planned to keep were loaded in a truck.

Day four was a break for their sore muscles. As they didn’t have much furniture left but that one bed, they both sat there lazily. Well more like Bokuto draped his entire body across the mattress and Akaashi was sitting on the edge, toes swinging across the floor. There weren’t many new entries in his notebook, so he just flipped back through prior passages and reread them, letting a smile slip a few more times than anticipated.

And when he turned back to stare at the wide expanse of Bokuto’s back, he impulsively reached out and rested a hand on the surface. There was a jolt from under him and golden eyes turned to watch him.

Before Bokuto could say anything, he turned back to his notebook. Yet his hand remained there, drawing small circles as if it was a canvas. 

Day five was for cleaning. Mostly uneventful, nothing to be noted except that night, Akaashi couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t an abnormal occurrence so he got up, shifting in such a way that he made the least amount of sound and slipped to the kitchen, leaning on the counter and staring blankly out the window, not quite thinking of anything in particular.

He was so lost in thought he hardly registered a creak from behind him. In the soft lights of the night, he watched. Watched as the cup passes between them, steam rising from the top. 

“Ah, thank you.”

“So? What’s keeping you up?” Bokuto joins him with another cup. Akaashi had no idea when the drink was made but it was soothingly warm in his hands. 

He clicks his tongue to stall. “Nothing much. Sorry for waking you.”

Bokuto waves his other hand, “Nah, I couldn’t sleep either. Probably for different reasons though, I was too excited of moving to get any rest.”

“What do you want to do, once we get to the city?”

“Hm, I don’t know! I’ll let the flow take me and find something I’d like to stick to. Maybe find a new job if I can. Even a temporary one is fine until I get my feet steady there. Doesn’t really matter if I have you next to me!”

Akaashi nodded mindlessly as if his head was bobbing in water, “Mhmm, I see.”

“What about you? Any ideas?”

He closed his eyes, taking a sip and replying, “I haven’t thought about it either. Whatever you want to do, I’ll be behind you, supporting you. There doesn’t have to be some overarching dream you strive towards; you can just live in the moment.`”

“Then we can explore! Together!”

A stifled yawn. “I suppose we could.”

Everything past that point was a blur, he remembers those last few words and then vaguely remembers the mug being pried from his hands and set in the sink before something warm carried him back to the bed and tucked him in. 

* * *

Akaashi eventually met with Kuroo in person. Well, less like met and more like saw in person. He was less eccentric than Akaashi expected, other than the fact he was overly friendly with someone who he had apparently met over the internet.

It never hurt to be on guard, Akaashi thought despite trusting Bokuto’s judgement to the fullest. Still, he settled on that as the explanation for the emotions pooling in his stomach as Kuroo slung an arm over Bokuto’s shoulder and ushered him to the table which had a bunch of documents already laid out.

It took just a few documents of signing and then the key was passed over.

“And with that, good luck. You have my number, all anytime you need help, alright?” He waved a hand behind him, “And don’t forget, you owe me a dinner.”

Bokuto waved back, “I will.” Then turned back to Akaashi, eyes sparkling.

_ What was I ever worrying about _ , he scolded himself. Reaching down, he pulled up the earbud, placing it into Bokuto’s ear like he’s done before, almost by habit now. “This is a great step. I’m proud of you, Bokuto-san.”

“We can move in now!”

“Yes, we can. Shall we head over to take a proper look at it?”

A fervent nod as Bokuto typed in the address onto his phone, eyes darting between the page and his device. Akaashi also searched it just in case. Bokuto excitedly shot out of his chair and grabbed Akaashi’s hand and began dragging him to the taxi stop. As surprised as he was, Akaashi didn’t let it show, instead looking back at the phone and letting the moment play out itself without his hindrance.

And when arriving at the apartment, Bokuto announced, “I’m home.”

Akaashi raised an eyebrow, “Who are you calling out to?”

“Our new home! We’re finally moving in together, you should try greeting it too!”   
“Alright,” Akaashi covered his mouth to hide another smile. “I’m home.” 

“Welcome home,” Bokuto chirped back like it was natural. And this time, Akaashi didn't try to make up an excuse to why his heart fluttered at the words. It was just two simple words, uttered all the time in a household, yet when Bokuto said it, it was an entirely different feeling, one that made his fingers reach up to his neck and press on his racing pulse. 

He responded the same, “Welcome home, Bokuto-san. Shall we begin unpacking before it gets late?” Akaashi moved towards the door, glancing back to see the other trailing behind him as they went to the moving truck and began to lay things out.

Moving in was harder than he thought.

For starters, they did order a new bed which arrived but had to be assembled which was a mess of papers and instructions and eventually Bokuto wailing about how difficult it was while Akaashi gave up for the night and they settled on blankets on the floor. 

The second day, Akaashi did figure it out and redeemed his dignity. 

Another hard part was trying to find more furnishing as there was plenty of space in their new apartment in comparison to their prior living conditions. Akaashi went about organizing the items they took from the old house (yes, he sorted out the salt and sugar finally) and occasionally followed Bokuto when he went out to buy new furnishings and seemed overly excited when realizing his card went through without a hitch even for big purchases. Not as bad as his first attempt at buying, but still, he couldn’t help but utter an unheard apology to the register.

But once they finally settled in, it was a new normal. 

They build a home around one another, finding routine in each other’s days. There were compromises, trade-offs of tasks, and most of all, trust in the process. Part of that system was waking up next to each other, the distance shrinking each night. That fuzzy feeling in Akaashi’s chest never faded, staying a constant in his new life.

“I think you shine the brightest.”

Bokuto shifted around in their bed, “Hm? What did you say?”

Akaashi looked into Bokuto’s eyes, lifting a hand to rest it on his cheek. “Nothing, Bokuto-san. I was just thinking out loud. Goodnight, sweet dreams.”

_ I love him. _

* * *

“How’s tonight? Like meet there at six? Cool. See you then.”

“Was that Kuroo-san?”

Bokuto confirmed, “Yeah, I said I’ll treat him for dinner once we settled and it’s about time. He also said he’s bringing a friend along if you don’t mind?” Akaashi waved it off. “Anyway, it's a little family owned restaurant a few streets down. We can walk there a few hours later.”

It was still a few hours early, so Akaashi set an alarm on his phone to get ready.

“Very well, it’s good to keep up good connections while in a foreign location. On that note, have you decided if you want to start pursuing something? You mentioned wanting a job? I can help you look for them if you want. Though I must also point out you have enough money  _ for yourself _ not to worry about working if you wanted. If you want to support other people, for example a family, that might be a different story.”

Bokuto considered it for a second. “Even if it’s just volunteer work, I want to do something rather than sit around all day. It’s less about the pay and more about having something to do. But collecting money for the future also is promising.”

“I understand, I’ll look into it for you.”

“Thanks, Akaashi!”

“No problem, it’s my pleasure.” He headed over to the couch and began to search through some sites on his phone he knew were reliable based on previous experience with clients. They were always bookmarked because finding a stable job was something clients often asked for and it was also for later reference for him once he got off his time contract.

As their afternoons typically passed with the two doing whatever they wanted, Akaashi took his time, flipping through his notebook to determine qualities of Bokuto that would benefit him in job searching: hard working, full of energy and optimism, charismatic, etc.

Maybe the list was a bit biased but who could blame him?

He peered up from his work once or twice to check on Bokuto who was sitting by the kitchen counter and seemed to be scrolling through his phone. Akaashi resisted the urge to flick his eyes up every other second, instead resting his eyes from the search every thirty minutes to watch what Bokuto was doing instead. By the third hour, Bokuto had shifted from the counter to the couch seat adjacent to him, leaning his back on the armrest and legs spreading across in Akaashi’s direction.

A small notification made its way on his screen:  _ Alarm. _

How time flew. He stretched his arms across his chest and glanced over to Bokuto who was still immersed with his screen. Akaashi carefully lifted his hand up and tapped twice on the tips of Bokuto’s toes to get his attention.

Bokuto jolted up from his seat, laughing, “That tickles, Akaashi.”

“It’s time to get ready, come on.”

“That’s not fair,” Bokuto whined, “Come back, are you ticklish?” He shook his head as Bokuto flipped their positions, reaching to wiggle his fingers towards his toes and huffing a sigh of defeat a few seconds later when he got no reaction.

Akaashi rolled his eyes, “What did I tell you?”

“Boo hoo.”

“Don’t pout now, let’s get ready, come on.” Akaashi went over to the bedroom, “If you come here, I’ll help you pick something out.” Bokuto perked up at that, as expected since Akaashi quickly realized Bokuto was much more excited when they did something together.

In the end, Bokuto wore his semi-formal clothes and got to the restaurant two minutes late due to some traffic light delay but Kuroo waved it off with a “I expected you to be late honestly.” 

While the two friends caught up with one another, Akaashi took note of the third person who silently sat next to Kuroo. Sharp eyes and brown hair that dipped into yellow ends tied in a low knot. “Bokuto, meet my friend Kenma who has his own sports company and is also a well-known influencer. Kenma, meet my friend Bokuto who I met years back and just moved here.”

Both of them shook hands as the food arrived.

“Right, we ordered ahead of time, don’t worry, I know it’ll be to your tastes,” Kuroo grinned as he began to pile food onto his plate. “Your treat.”

“Thought I did tell him not to, considering you are paying.” Kenma finally spoke up. His voice was much quieter compared to the other two, but it held its weight with emphasis on the words he spoke. In fact, it was the type of voice that yelling would only lessen the effect of. An admirable trait to have, Akaashi noted.

Bokuto didn’t even have to second guess anything as he did the same, grabbing at the food with his chopsticks. “Nah, it’s fine I can cover it.”

“You heard the man, eat up,” Kuroo laughed. “Now c’mon, how’s the city been treating you?”

“Mmm, it's been good! Getting used to everything here, it’s still much louder than where I used to live, but besides that, I’m happy!”

Kuroo nodded like he was deep in thought. “I see. Have you been searching for anything?”

“Um, I guess a place to work?”

“Aha!” A pair of hands slammed themselves on the table as Kuroo’s grin spread impossibly wider, “What a coincidence, because I know just the place for you. You thought this was just a simple dinner, but behold, my true plan.” He pointed his finger towards Kenma, “Here--”

“I can offer you a temporary position, as an assistant. Just a few months I need some help with some files. I can’t pay much but if you need help finding a place to start, I can provide,” Kenma cut off the other with ease.

Akaashi stopped Bokuto with a light tap on his shoulder, “Isn’t this rather convenient?” It was suspicious how easily the opportunity just presented itself. Sure, he had eventually grown to trust Kuroo as a person, but this other person was a wild card. But based on his search prior, this offer was much better than anything he’d found therefore seeming extremely promising. “Pretend you’re receiving a phone call, Bokuto-san.”

“Right um, looks like someone’s calling me, ah excuse me for a moment,” Bokuto stammered with a comically big smile. “Ah, yes hello?”

“Can we step outside?”

“Right, let’s go outside.”

He was about to protest that line because no one on the phone would say that, but seeing as it already slipped out, well whatever. They weaved their way through the restaurant and out the door. “Bokuto-san, I want you to know that it is a tempting offer.”

“So should I accept?”

“Seeing as you aren’t in need of money, I see no harm in doing so. A few extra funds could go a long way in the long run. Just be careful, we don’t quite have details about the company and work yet. I don’t want to see you tired out by it.”

Bokuto agreed and pretended to hang up the call and head back inside. The two were still at the table, waiting patiently. “Sorry about that, guys.”

Both of them waved it off. 

“That is fairly odd timing for a call, don’t you think?” Kenma noted, “Nevertheless, I will give you time to think it over if you want. It’s not a public offering so there’s no rush. Kuroo was the one who prompted this up anyway and I realized I did need a little help.”

“Ah, actually, I would love to work with you.”

“Well, then I look forward to working with you too.” Kenma concluded, as they proceeded to exchange contact information.

“Woo! It’s settled. What a fantastic moment to have a toast to our new partnership. Waiter, bring us some-- ow!”

Kuroo yelped as Kenma continued to stare directly in front of us, a half-smile eerily pasted on as if he didn’t just elbow the person next to him into doubling over. “Kuroo, what did I say about using someone else’s money without permission?”

“I’m sorry,” Kuroo squeaked out, “Congrats, I’ll just be here.”

The waiter turned, thoroughly confused. Kenma covered, “We’ll have the bill. Thank you for paying, Bokuto.” The shop card was slipped onto the tray. “Now shall we get going? We’re all heading in the same direction, right?”

Nods around the table. 

Bokuto stood up first, walking back out the way they came and holding open the door for all of them. Akaashi thanked him softly, pressing a finger to his lips to let the other know not to reply.

And they made their way down the crosswalk in pairs of two. Bokuto and Akaashi in front while Kenma and Kuroo behind them. There wasn’t much to discuss so they walked in silence, soles of their shoes tapping on the ground in different beats. A few crosswalks in, they stopped at a red light and Kenma shifted smoothly up front to press the crosswalk button, interrupting Bokuto who was reaching towards it.

He turned to address Bokuto directly, “Who’s next to you, Bokuto.”

“Huh?”

The light turned green but none of them dared move. “You’ve had that earbud plugged in with the microphone up since you went to get your call. Which you also said something strange before you left, something about going outside? But also notice how you’re walking. If one was alone on the road, would they walk towards the street side? Watch your own arms, your right arm is swinging further than your left, a sign that you don’t want to bump into what is next to you. Your eyes also keep darting towards that side. I could go on, but I think I’ve made my point.”

All three of them turned in shock at Kenma.

“What?” Kuroo muttered, “Are you okay, Kenma? There’s no one there--”

“I know I’m not wrong.” Kenma insisted, throwing a fist right towards where Akaashi was. Yet all it did was hit air. Akaashi didn’t even have to move, to outsiders from the shop he was nonexistent to the world they lived in. “Look, I don’t care  _ why, _ I’m not judging you. I just need to  _ know _ .

Bokuto looked in horror at the hand that seemed to just pass straight through Akaashi.

“Akaashi--”

This time they all turned to Bokuto, all tense. Akaashi weighed his options carefully. While there was no condition against revealing himself, there was also no reason for them to believe Bokuto. In fact, he might be labelled as insane and would drastically hinder his chances for a new life. There was no guarantee he could hold a complete stranger for their word. But at the same time, the same stranger did offer them a fairly promising position.

“It’s your choice if you want to trust them, I don’t mind.”

“Um, I guess you all could meet Akaashi. He’s been with me for a while now,” Bokuto fumbled over his words and waved in Akaashi’s direction, “He’s here?” Their audience looked towards the space that was Akaashi for a few moments. “What? I’m not lying.”

“No you’re right, we believe plenty of things we cannot see. There is no reason for me to not believe there is a person next to you. Nice to meet you, Akaashi,” Kenma responded after the prior shock, bowing slightly.

Kuroo took a bit more staring before he pointed an accusing finger at Bokuto, “Yo, so you got yourself a rich boyfriend and never told me?” 

“I what?”  
“It all makes sense now. That’s why you suddenly have the money to move and plus you must be moving in with him. How could you keep it a secret from me, bro? And you said you’ve been together for a while now? Damn.”

Akaashi stared in disbelief. This was a terrible misunderstanding and poor Bokuto was just stuck at “Um...”

That’s it. That’s enough secondhand embarrassment, Akaashi decided, burying his face into his hands. Him, being Bokuto’s boyfriend? No that was not only implausible but only something that happened in his dreams. It was not going to happen, there was nothing there, no. It was just a bold assumption, far from the truth. 

How does one even get to that conclusion? From not believing in the nonexistent to believing in a nonexistent boyfriend, it was ridiculous, but then also made sense considering the two were close friends. But still nonsense. Absolute nonsense.

Yet Kuroo didn’t let the topic drop, “So your boyfriend, is he hot?”

Bokuto yelped, “I guess? Yes? He’s right here so um--”

“Where’d you two meet? Who fell in love first? Who confessed?” Kuroo continued to bombard him with questions. They hardly realized they were still at the same crosswalk until the pole began to beep again as another person pressed it. Thankfully, that gave Bokuto enough time to escape and rush across the sidewalk, yelling back, “I’ll be going this way now, bye.”

Kenma waved back to both of them, “See you soon. We’ll keep in contact.”

And in the background, “Hey, you better get back to meeee.”

Bokuto’s pace slowed after their second turn where they were finally out of view from the two, “Sorry, that wasn’t our turn was it? I was just, flustered.”

“It’s alright, I’ll get the GPS.”

“Thanks Akaashi. Though...”

He put down his phone to give Bokuto his attention first and foremost. “Yes, Bokuto-san? Is something bothering you? Are you feeling unwell?”

“I’m fine! I was just thinking about what Kuroo said, um.”

So that was it. “No need to worry, Bokuto-san. He was just teasing you and we’re just friends. Or observer and client if you feel better. Don’t listen to what another person labels us as, they don’t matter. It’s about us.”

There was a beat of silence so he went back to searching the directions. Luckily, they weren’t that far off from their apartment. “Come on, it’s this way.”

The walk back was in awkward silence. He felt like Bokuto wanted to say something but didn’t want to force him, so he stayed silent. And for what reasons Bokuto was silent he didn’t realize until they reached the door, “Right, just friends.” But even then, he didn’t quite understand the feelings behind it. Opening the door, he looked back at the yellow glow emitted from the light casting deep shadows on Bokuto’s face.

“Welcome home.”

* * *

“Bokuto-san, it’s time to wake up. I made you coffee, just how you like it.”

A voice muffled by blankets, “Not now.”

Akaashi frowned in concern, “Are you feeling alright?” He understood that Bokuto was not a morning person, but it was already close to noon and the lack of responsiveness was worrying him. He walked over, shaking the figure lightly, “Bokuto-san?”

“Yeah.”

And of course, the one word answers, the equivalent of the silent treatment. “Can you let me know what’s going on? Did I do something wrong?”

“No.”

Which question was that an answer to? He had no idea. Maybe both. He frowned despite wanting to sigh. Sighing out loud would’ve given off the wrong tones; he wasn’t disappointed or anything, just a tad confused. Akaashi shifted to sit on the edge of the mattress, running a hand down Bokuto’s back calmingly. “Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Akaashi didn’t dare look away, just staring almost blankly at the blankets he ran his hand across. Breakfast was forgotten.

“...Akaashi?”

“Yes, I’m listening.”

Another moment of silence as Bokuto collected his thoughts. “Am I good enough for you?”

“Good enough?” He thought back to yesterday, to the conversation they had with Kuroo. “Are you worried about the money? It’s all yours, I didn’t pay for anything. You were the one that sold your life and that’s it. You are independent from me.”

“Right.”  
He reached up to fold a corner of the blanket up, catching a glimpse of silver hair under. “Are we ready to get up now?”

“No.” Bokuto grumbled and flipped over so the blanket covered him again.

Was that not it? Bokuto had been awfully silent since the crosswalk and there were a multitude of reasons that could explain why. But if it wasn’t the money, was it his reveal? Unlikely because it wasn't like Bokuto tried to keep him a secret. Was it the mistaken relationship? Also unlikely because he cleared that up last night. What did he say last night by the door again? This time he really did sigh. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Whatever.”

Fine, maybe it wasn’t the best time to pursue the topic. “Can I bring you breakfast in bed? We can hang here and eat. I’ll bring two plates over and a table, alright? Just sit tight.” He stood and went to the kitchen, tossing some bread in the toaster and scrambling some eggs. It was simple but he needed something quick to plop on the plates and bring back.

By the time he returned, Bokuto’s head had emerged from the blankets. 

“Good morning.”

Bokuto didn’t respond the same, just reaching out to grab the plate and ate. Akaashi did the same, sitting cross legged across from the other, darting his head up once in a while just to check in. “Is this about us?”

A slow nod.

“What about us is bothering you?”

The fork scraped against the plate with a squeak. “We’re friends or something you said. But how can I be your friend when I hardly know anything about you?” Once he had begun to speak, it was like a dam of words was released, “I feel like you’re still otherworldly. I don’t know the simplest thing about you, like what is your favorite color? Where did you grow up? What means something to you? All I know is you sold your time and you’re watching me. How can I be your so-called friend, let alone assumed boyfriend?”

Akaashi was at a loss for words so Bokuto went on, “It’s like when you first came to watch me all over again. I was too absorbed in myself that I didn’t even realize you didn’t have a place to sleep. I want to know about you, Akaashi. I want to know your likes and dislikes and who you are. So, um, I didn’t think this far, but I was wondering if you wanted to go anywhere?”

Looking at those pleading eyes, he couldn’t say no, despite having no place in mind he responded honestly, “We could go somewhere later this month. Give me some time to think over where, but for sure.”

That seemed to mend Bokuto’s mood. 

“Alright! I’ll be waiting!” Bokuto chirped happily, throwing aside the blankets and skipping cheerfully to the sink. Akaashi watched him with a perplexed expression but was happy it was over. Slipping out his journal he began writing a passage for himself:

_ I never want to see him sad again _ . _ I’ll surely ruin it, but would he still sit next to me if he knew? He’s too kind to leave, but _ ...

The passage was left unfinished.

* * *

Monday of the next week, they went to an address that Kenma sent them and ended up in front of a relatively large building complex. Automatic doors opened at their presence that they stepped into, marveling at the interior.

“Can I help you?” a receptionist prompted.

“My name’s Bokuto Koutarou, I’m meeting with Kenma.”

The receptionist lifted the phone and made a quick call before gesturing behind them. “Right away, sir. Kenma-san is waiting for you down the hall. His door is labelled; you’ll find it on your left.” 

Bokuto thanked them one last time before heading down the hall, taking the time to read each door label until he reached one with ‘Kenma’ written in and knocked. A voice replied, “Come in, both of you, the door’s unlocked.”

As promised, the door swung open and they stepped into a rather standard looking office, office table in the middle with two foldable chairs on the side closer to the door, shelves and files on the sides, windows with blinds on the far wall. Kenma sat cross legged in a spinny chair behind the desk, headphones dangling around his neck as he set a controller down next to his computer. “Glad you found your way here. Take a seat, it’ll be easier for me to detail you here.”

Bokuto took the right seat and Akaashi the left.

“Akaashi’s in the left correct?”

A nod from Akaashi and Bokuto responded, “Yup! Um is it alright for him to be here? It’s his job to look after me.” That must’ve been why Kenma specifically set up two chairs there, it took quite the foresight to consider that and Akaashi acknowledged it.

Kenma waved it off without much problem. “He’s welcome to join us, but I’m only paying for one person.” He shifted in his chair and opened several programs on his computer, turning it on its axis to show them. “Do you know how to use these programs? If not, are you able to learn how to do it soon?”

Bokuto slumped down in his chair ever so slightly. “Bokuto-san, don’t be discouraged. I can lead you through these. I have basic knowledge of these, can you tell him that?”

“Right um, not personally, but Akaashi said he could help me.”

“And this is why I have no problem with Akaashi tagging along. That would be very much appreciated, thank you.” Kenma gave his recognition to the left chair then turned his attention back to Bokuto, “Don’t worry, we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Plus, this isn’t time sensitive, I just need it done in the long run. I’ll have plenty of other tasks for you.”

That seemed to calm Bokuto as he sat back up. “Thank you!”

“You should be thanking Kuroo, he was the one that convinced me that I needed help in the first place. I don’t know who he was looking out for, the me that needed some rest or you who needed a place to start off.”

Glancing around, Bokuto asked, “Where  _ is _ Kuroo?”

“Oh him? He doesn’t work here though way too many people think he does that it’s become a joke by now.” Kenma recited as he probably has done plenty of times, “We’re childhood friends. Though honestly, his job’s a mess half the time so who knows where he is.”

“Wow, I didn’t realize.”

“It’s alright, send him your thanks another time. For now, I think the computer in the room over is open, head over there and I’ll send you some instructions to get started. Take it easy on the first day, no pressure, just set your own hours and call me if you need anything.”

Kenma excused them with a key and a pile of papers. They headed over to the next room and Akaashi began the task of teaching Bokuto how to work the program while also going through the pages of papers and organizing them into piles based on input. “Right, and then click that box and start putting these values in. Perfect.” The day proceeded like that, with Akaashi hovering behind Bokuto and instructing him based on Kenma’s instructions while Bokuto typed in the numbers and names as quickly as he could. And to Bokuto’s credit, he never gave up despite learning something completely new, he was picking it up quite quickly and was managing. Was it the most efficient way to use the program? No, clearly he wasn’t an expert using all the shortcuts. But was he trying his best and doing what made sense to him? Yes.

Just once in a while he would call Akaashi back and ask small questions like, “Is this right?”

“Yeah, you’re doing great, Bokuto-san.”

And Bokuto would flash him a smile back, taking more files from Akaashi’s hand, their fingers brushing once or twice during the exchanges yet went unnoticed. Both of them worked until the time didn’t even register for them. For Bokuto it was likely due to concentration and Akaashi just hadn’t been keeping track due to his carelessness. 

“Shall we take a break?”

“One more--”

Akaashi wandered back over to the desk and was amazed to see how much they had gotten done. The stack of things they had to do was still enormous in comparison but he could see a dent begin to form which was encouraging. But it was no wonder why Kenma needed help when there were so many things to do, it’ll likely take them at least a month to get through even as a tag team. Luckily, Bokuto didn’t notice or didn’t mind the sheer amount and continued to pull through.

“You’ve done plenty, take a break or you’ll wear yourself out.”

“But the more I get done the faster I’m getting!” Bokuto explained his optimistic outlook and Akaashi just nodded along, “I’m finally getting it! Thanks for teaching me.”

“No problem. I’m here to help.”

At that moment, the door swung open. “Oh, you two are still here?” Kenma walked in, arms stretched up above him. He looked around the room pointedly, but not at the papers, just around. “Where is Akaashi now?”

"Um, by the shelf.”

Kenma nodded, walking over to the shelf, overstepping where Akaashi was but he adjusted himself so Kenma was looking at him. Well supposedly since he couldn’t really see Akaashi. Another moment of simply staring and then Kenma walked over the computer, taking the mouse from Bokuto and scrolling through the work they had gotten done. A few clicks where Kenma added comments to change something or reminders and he stood back up. “Well done, both of you. This is great, I really thought I’d never get to this.”

“Thank you.” Bokuto stood, bowing. “I’ll keep up the work.”

“Right. That’ll be everything I need worked on this week. It’s a lot of monotonous office work, but it does need to be complete.” A heavy sigh as he looked over to the piles. “Honestly, this was going to take me a year or something so as long as you get something done I’m relieved. Next week I have some people coming over for a shoot and I’d like you to help out. I’ll send you the details in due time but also don’t worry about it too much. If anything, there would be no merit to me firing you in the first place, you two are big help.”

Kenma turned back to the shelf, missing Akaashi’s eye contact by a few inches too far to the left but nonetheless the action was appreciated.  _ He really believes. _

“Do you  _ really _ believe in Akaashi?” Bokuto blurted out.

A laugh. “It’s not like you taught yourself how to use the program in this short amount of time, did you? I really do believe in Akaashi. And if I imagine hard enough, I can see him too.”

“So there are really people like that,” Akaashi mused, circling around Kenma who didn’t seem to realize he moved. Even though Kenma did look like any other passerby, he sure wasn’t one to mess with. Yes, Bokuto wasn’t the best at hiding his existence, but it was also scarily precise how Kenma found out about him. “I think we’re going to have a nice time working around someone like this.” Looks like he’d have to delete the bookmarks he had on job listing. 

“See you next time.”

* * *

Sunday evening at their home, Akaashi bundled himself up in blankets and was going through his notebook again updating it with fleeting thoughts and progress when Bokuto’s phone on the table began to buzz. 

“Can you check that for me?” Bokuto called from the room over.

Akaashi yelled back a confirmation and stood up to grab the phone, resting his finger on the home button and watching it light up. There was nothing weird about having his fingerprint saved as a password, alright? It was just because Bokuto often left his phone unattended and once they just realized it was easier for him to just have the password as well. Nothing more than that, besides it also meant that Bokuto trusted him enough--

“Kenma texted you to come by tomorrow morning, 10 AM. For the shoot.”

“Tell him we’ll be there.”

> Bokuto > Of course, we’ll come by.
> 
> Kenma > Thanks, Akaashi right?
> 
> Bokuto > Correct, how’d you know?
> 
> Kenma > The punctuation, don’t worry about it. See you two soon.
> 
> Bokuto > Oh, well see you soon too.

Akaashi set the phone down with a slight thought: he had always had proper punctuation in his texts because he got too used to writing emails after one of his clients. He had never considered that people would take that into account to figure out it was him, but then again it was Kenma who seemed to be impossible to hide secrets from. What an intriguing person.

Monday morning they went over like normal, the receptionist already familiar with Bokuto and even offering them some leftover donuts which Bokuto took with glee. They directed the two of them to a different room this time, one labeled ‘Studio’.

Inside there were already people bustling around and setting up a stage. Kenma was in the center of the room with his back turned to them, talking to two other people. One was a tall lanky blonde with glasses and the other was a much shorter orange haired boy. Realizing the door closed with a click, Kenma went to greet them.

“Bokuto.” A pause as he waited for Bokuto to tell him where Akaashi was and turned to his right to nod again. “Akaashi. Meet Hinata Shouyou, my model and friend since high school, and Tsukishima Kei, a part time freelance photographer.” He introduced them one at a time, gesturing towards the orange haired boy and then the blonde. “You two, meet Bokuto Koutarou and Akaashi Keiji, my current assistants.”

The man named Tsukishima caught onto it first, “And?”

“I’m Bokuto! And this is Akaashi,” Bokuto slung an arm around Akaashi in a showy manner and beamed despite Akaashi wobbling under the sudden weight.

Kenma saved him by speaking up, “I trust this will not get in the way of our work today; we’re accepting of everyone in all different appearances and backgrounds here. No, I know it won’t be an issue because I know you all well enough. Regarding the extenuating circumstances of this case, you will have to ask Akaashi directly.”

“I see,” Tsukishima concluded, though ironically he couldn’t really see Akaashi.

“You’re on the clock, let’s get to work.” Kenma clapped, “Hinata, go into the backroom to get changed and prepared for the shoot. Tsukishima set up the props and all that with the help of Bokuto and Akaashi if needed. An extra pair of hands is always appreciated.”

With that they all set off in their respective directions, the two of them trailing after Tsukishima who went outside to unload his car full of equipment. He picked up two of the bags and nodded at the rest of the things. “I’ll take the camera stand in, bring in the lighting.”

Bokuto saluted with fear evident in his eyes from the cold treatment.

Tsukishima seemed to click his tongue at that and head back inside, kind enough to at least leave the door propped open behind him. 

“Does he not like me?”

Akaashi shrugged, “There will always be skeptics, not everyone is as accepting of things without evidence. Don’t pay him any mind, shall we get to work?”

“Then I’ll just have to prove it to him!” Bokuto pouted as he picked up the begs, slinging one over his shoulder and taking one in each hand. They made their way back inside, Akaashi just trailing behind as he couldn’t do much in this situation except talk to Bokuto and reassure him. Though on the positive side, Bokuto’s determination to change a mind made seemed to speed up the process quite significantly and they had all the equipment in before he knew it.

“Done already? That’s all I need.” Tsukishima acknowledged and then turned back to his work.

“You don’t believe in Akaashi do you?” Bokuto pointed an accusing finger at the photographer, “Is that why you’re judging me?”

Tsukishima didn’t even turn from his work, “It’s not like I don’t believe you, it’s simply I have no input or reasoning to believe he does or doesn’t exist therefore I don’t want to touch that subject matter. I am neither denying nor supporting your claim.”  
“But don’t you trust Kenma?”

“What reason would I trust him on that matter. I trust him on certain matters and trust his judgement enough to accept this job, but he holds no reliability in the manner as he can’t see this Akaashi person either can he?” Tsukishima finally turned around, frown lines evident, “Look, everyone here might believe you but I try to be a head of reason.”

“How can I show you he’s here then?”

Tsukishima pursed his lips and tried to glance over Bokuto for something to do but found that effort fruitless as Bokuto just moved with his gaze. “Fine, I don’t know, what does he look like?”

Apparently Bokuto wasn’t actually expecting a question so he fumbled around with his words and replied, “Akaashi’s um really pretty. Like he has really cute, short but messy hair. It kind of rumples up in curls and then he has really long eyelashes. And like deep blue eyes. Sometimes he wears brown rimmed glasses though, the square shaped ones. Um he’s about this tall and normally has this neutral look on his face. And uh...” A weirdly specific description of him, but alright. 

“That explains a lot of the population.”

“But you asked me to tell you what he looked like?”

The furrow between Tsukishima’s eyebrows only grew deeper, “And you were the one who was trying to convince me.” He finally stopped trying to dart away and crossed his arms, “It’s not like I’m working with him, am I? I only see you bringing stuff in so why should I worry about it during this time?” Bokuto seemed at a loss of words which made Tsukishima just smirk and use that time to excuse himself to a back room.

“Hey--” Bokuto yelled after him but the photographer was long gone, which only made Bokuto sulk more. “I’m sorry Akaashi.”

“Don’t be. You have no reason to prove my existence.”

That only seemed to make matters worse as Bokuto whined, “But then if people don’t know you exist, how are you going to be remembered?”

“Won’t you remember me, Bokuto-san?” Akaashi noted lightheartedly.

“Right, but what about other people? If they aren’t convinced you exist, what’ll happen when your time contract is eventually over and you come back to this world? We can’t let all these connections you’ve made vanish just like that.”

He’d never really considered that. “It’ll be alright, Bokuto-san.”

If that helped calm the other was turned irrelevant as Kenma came back out from a different room with Hinata trailing behind him, chatting and likely catching up. And they seemed like in their own bubble till Kenma realized they had an audience and coughed into his fist, “Right, where did Tsukishima go?”

“Backroom.” Akaashi responded and Bokuto echoed.

“Right, I’ll go grab him, you three can just sit around.” Right as Kenma left, a flash of orange popped up in front of them. 

“Hey, I’m Hinata. Kenma’s told me a lot about you two, Bokuto and Akaashi right? But like only good things, promise. I am happy to see Kenma finally getting help, which I assume is also due to Kuroo pulling some strings, hm. Right, I’ve known him and Kuroo since high school, as rival schools though. That didn’t stop us either way. Anyway, pleasure working with you.” Hinata blurted out in one giant stream of words with no filter. 

The introduction was all over the place such that Akaashi wasn’t even sure where to start with this boy. In contrast, Bokuto seemed to catch on immediately, or he was just excited that someone came by and believed in Akaashi, both were options, and replied with an equal amount of enthusiasm, “Nice to meet you too, Hinata! Akaashi says hi too.” He didn’t, at least not out loud, but he did offer a wave that was also not seen.

“How’d you two meet?”

“Um, at a store!” Half of the truth. “Akaashi works there and I was a customer.” Luckily Hinata didn’t ask the details about the shop. Then again, if he was in the other’s position, he wouldn’t ask either, seeing as it was likely a sensitive topic. The two seemed to get along well enough to start having excited conversations that held more sounds and hand expressions than words which Akaashi had to admit he muted out the most of. 

Only when Bokuto tugged his arm and went, “Doesn’t Hinata remind you of Mango?” Turning back to the boy in question, he explained, “You remind me of a cat I used to take care of back where I used to live! Her name is Mango!”

“A cat?”

Akaashi was starting to feel that second hand embarrassment again as Bokuto continued, “Yeah! Your hair was like the color of the spots on her fur.” Bokuto scratched the back of his neck, a soft gesture. He must’ve missed her a lot.

“Ooh! I love cats, she sounds so cute!”

“She’s my favorite! Here I have some pictures of her.” He pulled out his phone and scrolled into the gallery. Akaashi circled around so he could also have a look over their shoulders. In an album named after cat herself, there were plenty of pictures seeming to range from years of time together. Much longer than the few minutes Akaashi had spent with her.

Hinata glanced over excitedly, eyes sparkling. “Send them to me, oh my god please.” He practically threw his phone over and surely there was a better way to exchange contact information but it  _ worked _ in its own strange way.

Needless to say, the two went from strangers to friends by the end of the shoot and promised to keep in contact. In regards to the shoot, it went smoothly and ended earlier than expected. Kenma was by the side instructing how he wanted the products to be set up but left the rest to the two while teaching Bokuto how to do this as this is something he’ll have to pick up soon. Akaashi had snuck behind Tsukishima at one point to take a peek at the photos and had to give his props to that man; the photos were very well framed so that even an amateur could recognize the skill. In that sense, it benefited with how compliant Hinata was and how he exuded a natural energy. 

They finally parted ways after the fact. Bokuto promised to keep in contact with Kenma and Hinata while hesitating behind Tsukishima and settling on, “Good work today.”

Tsukishima didn’t respond to that, continuing to pack up.

“Um, Akaashi said he really liked your pictures. I haven’t gotten a look at them myself but he said the framing is very nice. And just so you know, he’s real and always will be. It doesn’t matter how long it takes for me to convince you, I will.”

This made the blonde pause. “Thank you and goodbye.”

“Bye! Till next photo shoot!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have much to say about this but *crams characters into fic* there we go. Now y'all get along. Some of these characters I'm not quite that familiar writing for so if its a tad awkward, I know. Like trust me, I KNOW.
> 
> I'm mentally keeping track of all my deleted scenes which is a whooping lot but if anyone can guess a deleted scene um, idk you get a virtual cookie? No I'm kidding but I dunno. Do I really care about how this fic is received? No not really, the whole tagging thing is a mess because this has just natural story progression idk what you want ao3
> 
> why am I posting this all at once? because I have no self control hence I do whatever I want and I want he algorithm to screw me over, I dare it to.


	3. Chapter 3

By the end of the month, he finally decided to cash in his promise. “I’ve decided where I want to go.” It took much thought on his part to even determine where he wanted to go. Not too many places were sentimental to him, but since Bokuto insisted, he thought about it. He didn’t have many memories from high school as he spent more time studying at home than hanging out with classmates so the one place he decided was...

“Ooh, right I nearly forgot! Where?”

“If you’re willing to take a long train ride, I’d like to visit my parent’s home. Where I grew up. It’s a tad far and might take an overnight trip.”

He looked up nervously at Bokuto who looked like he was considering it. “We can go over the weekend if it gets in the way of work. I’ll pay for our travel expenses since it was my idea after all. And really, if you don’t want to we don’t need to.”

The silence was starting to make him jittery. Was it the wrong thing to say? Out of nowhere, Bokuto grabbed his hands and blurted out, “I’m not ready to meet your parents.”

“Huh?”

“If we’re going to your parent’s home that means we’re visiting your parents too right? I’m not ready, I don’t have any gifts for them or I don’t even have formal clothes. What if they ask about how we met, how am I supposed to explain all that? What do I even say to them? Oh no, what if they don’t like me. Is my hair too erratic for them? Is--”

Akaashi slapped his hand across Bokuto’s mouth to stop him, a look of bewilderment on his face. “No no no, you’re not meeting them this is a huge misunderstanding.”

“Mmhghh.”

“No there’s no way you are meeting my parents. Not like this. I wouldn’t even be able to face them. Please no, I just want to go visit the neighborhood and show you around or something. There is _no_ meeting the parents.” Panic, caused by embarrassment, was rising in his voice. “But even if you had to meet them-- no that’s not going to happen not now, not ever. Imagine telling them their son was right there when they couldn't see me, they would think I’m dead. That’s just awkward, no way nothing’s going to happen.”

A warm surface touching his palm made him jerk his hand back reflexively. Bokuto slowly retracted his tongue sheepishly, “Alright, no meeting the parents. Promise.”

“Then do you want to come along?”

“Oh yeah, of course! I’d love to go anywhere with you.”

 _Was that your only concern?_ Akaashi wanted to ask but carefully weighed the implications and opted against it. “Thank you. I’ll order the tickets and iron out all the details. All you have to do is pack for one night and that’ll be it.”

A week’s work later (and uncontrollable excitement from Bokuto through the whole time) they were finally at the station awaiting their ride.

“The plan is we ride the train to the furthest stop and get off to the hotel that’s about a ten minute walk away, drop off your stuff and get on the bus to take us close to my home and walk the rest of the way there. By then it’ll be a little late so be careful but once we finish going around, we’ll do the reverse and head back to the hotel and stay the night. Next day, we head home.”

Bokuto shook his head with such force the earbud fell out. Akaashi snorted fondly and reached up to fix it, taking his time to wrap the cord securely behind Bokuto’s ear.

“Be careful now, Bokuto-san. Is something on your mind?”

“R-right,” Bokuto stammered, “Um, not much I’m just thinking ahead. We’re sharing a hotel room right? Is that going to be awkward?”

 _Oh, Bokuto-san._ “We normally share a bed?”

“Oh yeah um...” He continued to fiddle with his fingers, rotating between tapping them on his phone and running his hand through his hair until the train arrived. Akaashi sent questioning looks at Bokuto but his eye contact was avoided. Perhaps Bokuto was afraid of train rides? But judging from how easily he stepped onto the platform that didn’t seem to be the case. He continued to rack his brain for ideas but fell short. 

In times like this, he knew he could just ask but was also aware if Bokuto didn’t want to talk about it would be difficult to get an answer. In the end, he didn’t risk ruining their trip just to ask for closure. 

On the ride there, he busied himself with a book he bought online, not quite sure what his companion was doing as he dove into the story’s plot. Halfway through the book he prompted Bokuto to eat some lunch he prepacked. Three fourths through the book, they reached their stop and he was forced to put it down, realizing how time had passed so quickly. His eyes probably were red from staring at his screen for so long and the bright light when he stepped off momentarily blinded him into a stumble. 

A yank on his shoulder pulled him back to a stagger. 

“Thank you--” He turned to thank Bokuto and their eyes met for the first time that day. It always struck him how expressive those golden eyes were even with just a brief flash of emotion. But looking up now, there was everything in those eyes beginning with contemplation and a little bit of worry down to unconditional fondness.

And just as quickly, the hand vanished and Bokuto began to walk ahead of him at a brisk pace. Akaashi gaped at the retreating figure, rushing to catch up yet staying in Bokuto’s shadow where he belonged. What are these dumb hopes that’ll only lead to disappointment? Now wasn’t the time for them, he pleaded his brain and heart.

Even if he wanted to ask, what would he say? Hey, I know this is out of nowhere but after all this time of watching you, I’ve kind of grown feelings for you? No, that was just insanity. He was _not_ going to ruin everything he’s built up to now with a few words.

Glancing back up he once again dashed to fall into step with Bokuto. Glancing around the streets he furrowed his brows, “Bokuto-san, do you know where we are going?”

Bokuto looked with his mouth opened in an o-shape. “No?”

“Come back, we missed our turn again. Seems like a common occurrence now doesn’t it?” The last time they had gotten this lost was when Kuroo was teasing them and Bokuto also darted ahead. The realization slowly caught up to him. Back then Bokuto had gotten lost because he was embarrassed, and so this time? His mind had to stop jumping to conclusions.

Akaashi sent a silent prayer to anyone out there to save him. 

His saving grace turned out in the form of arriving at the hotel in one piece and they were directed to a room with two separate beds which seemed to throw Bokuto off guard for a bit but he recovered by throwing his bags on a bed to claim it.

“Take a rest if you need. We got here earlier than planned.”

“I’m good! Maybe it’s better if we get to the destination earlier so we could sleep sooner.” Akaashi considered that for a bit and evaluated his own fatigue levels before agreeing. That would only shift things slightly forwards and still not have any foreseeable problem. Quickly, he pulled out his notebook and jotted down the schedule changes. 

And they set off when the sun was only beginning to grace the horizon, reaching their destination when it finally fell into the depths of purple clouds and the moon’s spotlight. When they turned onto the residential street, everything came flooding back to Akaashi. He might not have known his classmates well but he sure knew his neighbors and where everyone used to live due to his parents insisting they keep up good friendships around them. For once, he stepped ahead of Bokuto, leading the way home as he did many times as a child until he reached the house.

It was a modest size, two stories yet not overbearingly large. Slivers of warm yellow lights slipped through the curtains and illuminated the yard in front of it. 

“So this is it?”

“It is. Based on the time, my parents would be getting ready for bed. They were always early sleepers but that didn’t translate to me. I’m an only child but I had all the company I needed around here. They truly were thoughtful people.” A deep sigh as he stepped one foot forward into the light. “Could you give me a moment, Bokuto-san? Just wait by the end of the street.”

He only heard the scuffle of feet behind him before he proceeded to step all the way until his hand touched the window pane. Looking behind him, he watched the light pass straight through him. The warmth of this home no longer was for him. It was time to move on.

Lifting his hand off the window, he clasped them together and brought them to his forehead. _Thank you, mom and dad for everything you’ve done for me. This is goodbye_.

“You alright?”

Akaashi joined Bokuto at the end of the road, “Yes, I just had to pay my respects to them. Shall we head back?”

“We should...” Bokuto hesitated and asked, “Can you tell me about your childhood?”

Surprised, Akaashi agreed without thinking it through. On the bus, he began with the first memory he had of a stuffed animal he really liked and from there, it all came rushing back as he went on to tell memorable moments until they got back to the hotel room. Even as he tucked Bokuto into bed, he found he didn’t want to stop. The second bed eventually went to waste as he got under the covers and continued to tell his story until they both drifted into a deep slumber.

* * *

The day they arrived home, he expected himself to be exhausted and hit the bed right when they arrived. Yet that didn’t seem like the case as it turned out to be one of those nights where sleep eluded him and he slipped out of the warmth of their bed to settle by the kitchen window. Carefully, he opened the window to let the air grace his cheeks. How long ago was he in a similar position when they were moving out? It seemed like a long time ago.

Dangling one arm out of the windowsill and using his other arm as leverage to keep his head from hitting the cold border. The sky was sparkling in the distance, twinkling in a way that reminded him of a certain someone just one room away. 

“I always wanted to go stargazing,” he whispered into the air, a confession to no one.

When did he become so somber? It had truly been so long since he'd felt so much and so overwhelmed at the same time. At the same time, it was beautiful how much he wanted to cling to something he knew he couldn’t keep. His eyes dipped at the thought, a pang of pain through his chest that he attempted to distract himself by tapping his nails on his face.

Was it the fact he just re-lived his entire childhood in the span of two days? Or was it the fact he finally found someone to relive that story with? Such deep questions couldn’t be answered in such a short amount of time. In fact, these were the type of questions that needed to be set on the side, written down and considered from time to time instead of trying to solve it all at once.

A sleepy voice from behind him, “I didn’t expect you to be awake at this time, what’s up?”

He blinked out of his daze. “Nothing much, I’m just thinking. Sorry to disappoint.”

Bokuto must’ve been still half asleep as he wrapped his arms over Akaashi’s shoulder and stared out the window too. The nightlife filled the void between them: wind rushing past trees, cars rushing down the street to reach home, birds chirping their songs. The arms around him tightened their grip, “You’ll never disappoint me.”

“That can’t be true...”

“But it is, not once in all the time we’ve been together did I ever feel let down. Really, when I’m around you, everything is just right.” Bokuto whispered, the softest Akaashi has ever heard him and just as fragile. He knew he was shaking under the grip, afraid of breaking the moment and afraid of what came after. Bokuto buried his face into Akaashi’s back, “Perfect like you.”

“Bokuto-san.” It’s time to stop the denial. He flipped himself around so his head was no longer facing the window. Tilting his head up, his eyes met Bokuto’s and he knew there was nowhere else in the world he’d rather be. Reaching up, he gently took one of Bokuto’s hands in his own and led it to his neck, pressing the pads of his fingers onto his pulse. Bokuto’s eyes widened in shock, glimmering in the light. “You’re perfect to me.” 

And then Bokuto reached down to grab Akaashi’s hand, mirroring the actions until Akaashi could feel Bokuto’s heart racing just as fast as his. The same pulsating beat. His mouth felt dry, desperate, hoping this wasn’t a dream. The fingers on his neck moved up ever so slowly, trailing up to his chin and then mouth. “Can I?”

“Please.” He reached the hand that was on Bokuto’s pulse to the back of his neck and pulled him forward till their breaths mingled together. 

They shared their first kiss in the middle of the night, stars shimmering right outside the window. The very same weekend they had visited Akaashi’s childhood home, yet he’s never felt more home than right there, dipped over the window and staring back up to the person who had become his whole life and more. 

* * *

Bokuto walked into work the next day with his hand intertwined with Akaashi’s. Kenma gave him a look which led to Bokuto groaning, “Don’t tell Kuroo or he’ll never shut up about it.”

“He’ll find out either way but alright.”

“Just for now though. Please?”

Kenma smirked with a gleam in his eyes, “Not a word from me then. Congrats.” He dismissed them from his room with a set of instructions. “I sent you two a schedule for the month, so just do what you must. See you around.”

Said schedule was basically the same as they’d been doing prior. More filing, some other paperwork that Kenma had taught them about prior but wasn’t that interesting, few meets with their shoot team and other small tasks. All types of office work really. 

Some highlights from this time: an infamous typo in the files that got Kenma full out laughing, the computer mouse running out of battery so Bokuto had to understand how to use one of Kenma’s gamer mouses, Kuroo popping in once and wreaking havoc quite literally, and Hinata dropping by once too which also led to chaos but in a different sense. No he will not elaborate on that last event, it just happened all at once. It was shocking in fact how he survived that.

Point aside, yes Kuroo did eventually find out and the conversation went something like:

“So Akaashi and I are dating now.”

Visible confusion. “Now? What do you mean now bro?! Weren’t you always dating?”

Besides that, they had one more shoot at the end of the month where they got to see Tsukishima again. Hinata was apparently out of town for the month and couldn’t make it so they had a different model but he was apparently still keeping up text messages with Bokuto as far as Akaashi could tell from the notifications on Bokuto’s phone. 

Tsukishima was as skeptical as ever but still didn’t leave his seat when Bokuto sat next to him during a break and began to start small talk. That was progress in Akaashi’s book.

Near the end of the month, Kenma gave them a new task that gave rise to the most intriguing interaction Akaashi had encountered. The task: “Can you pick up the food for our meeting tomorrow? I’ll order by phone when he opens tomorrow so you two can just grab and go. I’ll send you the address once I get back to my desk.”

“I got it, I’ll drop by there before work tomorrow,” Bokuto confirmed.

Kenma shot him a thumb up and left, though soon enough they got an address sent to them which opened up to the map app. The restaurant wasn’t too far, just a few blocks out. It seemed to be a little place by the name Onigiri Miya owned by a Miya Osamu.

The next morning, Akaashi made sure to wake Bokuto up a little earlier than normal so they could make the food run. It was always better to be earlier than on time, he thought as they made their way down the streets in the early morning. Though maybe his words backfired when he realized the shop was much closer than he expected and they were way ahead of schedule when they arrived.

In front of the shop was also nothing significant, matching all the other restaurants on the block other than the sign that read its name. Bokuto pushed the door open with ease, the hinges not even daring to squeak. 

“Um, hello?” Bokuto walked into the store. It was early so there was no one else around. “I’m here for the pickup, someone should’ve called in.”

A man with a cap poked his head out from the back, “I hear ya, gimme a second ‘kay?” There were several more clangs in the back and Akaashi figured that was the man named Miya Osamu judging by appearance and behavior, yet hesitated to add it to his journal quite yet.

They stood around almost awkwardly at the counter. Akaashi took a quick glance around at that time: aside from the clear welcoming aroma of freshly cooked food, the shop was relatively new based on its furniture’s state and/or very well maintained with polished tables and counters lit by hanging lights and a touch of greenery by every corner that brought out the little aspects of the shop and made it feel homey. He gave his mental props to the owner and likely designer of the place.

When the man came back out he asked, “Does that ‘someone who called in’ happen to be Kenma? Another meeting eh?”

“Yeah that’s him!” Bokuto exclaimed, surprised, “Do you two work together often?” The onigiri owner smirked to answer with a confirmation. Now that Akaashi got a better view of him, he would see the owner was rather tall and had an admirable build despite his career. There were tufts of grey hair poking out under the hat and the same cap was shading his eyes. Something in those eyes was unsettling to look at. 

“So ya the new hires? Interesting.”

“Yeah! My name’s Bokuto and uh,” He glanced at Akaashi who shook his head. Something was off about this man and he wasn’t quite ready to disclose his identity. Better hold it off until he could. “Right, and you are?”

The man grinned, leaning over the counter, “Miya Osamu at yer service, yet everyone calls me Osamu because I have a twin and that’s just confusin’ ya know? Either way, nice to meetcha, I’ll get yer order in a second. Y’all early if ya haven’t noticed.”

“Thanks, um Osamu-san!”

Osamu waved as he dismissed Bokuto and set off to work in the back, mumbling softly to himself as he set out all the ingredients and began the prep process. Even someone with no prior cooking experience could see how skilled he was just based on sound alone. There was hardly any wasted movement, each connecting to the other with ease after years of practice and emitting just the faintest cues that someone was there. 

“I’m surprised ya haven’t heard of this place before. Most of the town has, despite if yer working for the company or not.”

“Um, yeah we just moved here recently.”

Osamu didn’t seem bothered to ask about the plural pronoun, instead continuing, “Ah, makes sense. Well, I hope y'all will become my regulars too. I’m sure with just one bite ya will love it, trust me the whole city knows by now.”

 _Miya Osamu_ , Akaashi wrote down into his journal: _Onigiri shop owner, self started by the looks of it and skilled at his craft, possibly overconfident on taste however._ Although he couldn’t pass his judgement on that final statement until he got a try himself. But then again considering Bokuto’s love of basically everything edible, he doubted Osamu would be off.

They sat around a little longer until a set of bags were placed in front of them. 

“Here ya go, freshly made.”

Bokuto leaned in right above the bag and took a big whiff. “Mmmm, that smells delicious, you really are the Onigiri god!”  
Osamu’s customer smile broke into a real one from that comment, “Onigiri god? Whatcha on? Yelp?” He rolled his eyes, “It’s nothin’ much, I ain’t a god. Anyway, drop by anytime I’ll give ya a discount or if ya bully my brother for me when he’s around, I’ll give you anything for free.”

“Thanks Osamu?”

“Also, if ya ever get tired of working for big businesses, come back and I can help ya out. Though don’t tell Kenma that, I need to keep my ties in check.”

Bokuto shifted the bags into his hands, “I’ll think about it.” It would be a reasonable transition after all Kenma said he didn’t need a permanent assistant but everything was up in the airs at that point. Akaashi would settle something but the cards had still not fallen in place. All he could do now was take note of every opportunity and leave it for Bokuto to decide for himself. 

“Yer welcome. See ya around.” A lazy hand waved from the counter.

As they left, Akaashi felt a pair of eyes boring into the back of his head. The same unnerving look he thought was directed at him before but brushed it off as impossible. Without alerting Bokuto, he turned around and saw Osamu display the most vulnerable face he’s ever seen. His arms were dangling helplessly by his side but his fists were tightly clenched. A flash of recognition on Osamu’s face as his eyes darted to the uniform that Akaashi was wearing. He gave one small understanding nod which was returned by Akaashi. 

_Who are you waiting for_?

* * *

They were dating. It only came as a realization to Akaashi much later than it should’ve. Really it was only when Bokuto took the time out of his schedule to plan a formal dinner that he came to this panicked conclusion. Yes it had been a while since that night but _still_. Like yes they held hands to work and all that but heck they shared a bed before that so it wasn’t a big deal but then they were going on dates now? Isn’t the progression of steps a little messed up here?

Flustered, Akaashi buried his face into his sleeves. “Bokuto-san.”

“Yeah, what’s up Akaashi?”

Akaashi struggled to voice his thoughts, “You didn’t tell me we were going out for dinner. If I had known, I would’ve at least put a little into my appearance.”

“But I wanted to surprise you.” An innocent little pout. How could Akaashi dare protest that face? He let out a sigh of defeat which Bokuto was elated to see. Though it was a mystery how this was kept under the covers for so long, considering they spent most of their time together. “My treat, order whatever you want. Don’t hold back just because it’s our _first date_.” 

Akaashi choked on his water. How dare Bokuto say it so casually? Little did he know Bokuto was just as embarrassed and his mind was running through romance movie lines. Either way, that’s a story for another time.

“I’ll have the second daily special. Thank you.”

Bokuto waved the waiter over to put in their orders then turned back to Akaashi, leaning onto his clasped hands to meet his eyes. It never ceased to amaze Akaashi how captivating Bokuto’s eyes were-- like golden petals floating on a pond of light. He waited for Bokuto to speak up, knowing he had something to say based on body language, “This is _my_ thank you. For getting me out there. For giving me a chance. For being by my side all this time.”

They were never ones for small talk; they knew each other’s every movement after all.

“No need to thank me for any of that, especially not the last one.”

A full-hearted laugh, “You know what I mean.”

That was no exaggeration. Akaashi really did know, understand how grateful Bokuto was because he was equally as thankful for the other appearing in his life on that day. Almost makes him wonder where he’d be without Bokuto. Without him, Akaashi would still be observing clients day after day, but without realizing its purpose. But now, there was that sense of self-fulfillment in having something he never expected but guiltily accepted because it still baffled him.

While he was reminiscing, the food arrived and with one cursory glance around the restaurant, Akaashi deemed it safe to eat. Actually, they were in a corner where the only angle an outsider would see is Bokuto’s back; it was a perfect position to hide the fact there was a second person there which made him wonder how much thought was put into this night. 

It was the smallest actions that were always the most touching. 

Akaashi began to eat, darting his eyes on the man in front of him between bites. “The food here is lovely. How did you find this place?”

“Hinata suggested it actually. Maybe I was fretting a little about us you know, especially since he hasn’t seen us, but he was super supportive. He told me he had a friend that worked here so he got this set up for us.” Ah, so that’s how it was done in secrecy.

“Allow me to forward my thanks to him too.”

He meant later, but Bokuto took out his phone there and then and sent a message from the looks of it. But he didn’t mind. Dinner ended like that. The meal was fabulous and the service was also incredible, even for a high end restaurant (although Bokuto was convinced Onigiri Miya was still the superior restaurant and argued it in not very hushed whispers; not that Akaashi particularly disagreed per se but it was amusing). Bokuto paid with his gold card easily, no longer awkward with it, which reassured Akaashi.

They made their way back to the street and Bokuto wanted to take him one more place before heading home: a small park nearby. 

The park was simple: a few paths with benches along their sides and lamps on their sides. Some trees scattered about on grass that was beginning to wither, though it wasn’t very clear in the dark. Bokuto led them over to a bench and tilted his head up.

“The night is beautiful today.”

Akaashi peered up and wondered if Bokuto had heard him that night when he said he wanted to see the stars. Those hopes were crushed when he peered up and saw the clouded sky, only speckles of airplanes moving across the black expanse. In reality, it was just another common statement with no correlation to what he had thought. “It really is.”

They stayed there for a bit, leaning on each other as their hands naturally intertwined. Even without the stars, the leaves fluttering off the trees and the emptiness of the night felt like a world to its own-- their own bubble. 

“Can we take a picture? To commemorate our first date?”

“If you want? I’ll only show up to you like normal though,” Akaashi whispered after some consideration. It’s been a while since he’d been in a picture, hm?

Bokuto grinned, eyes crinkling up at the edges and his exuberance tugging Akaashi to get closer like a magnet. “No problem.” He punctuated this by taking out his phone and flicking the lock screen to get to the camera, a second tap to flip the input. On the screen, Akaashi locked eyes with himself, tilting his head and watching his actions mirror, feeling a bit exposed. 

Blushing, he let Bokuto sling an arm around his shoulder and smiled when instructed. It was probably a lopsided smile. But the damage was done with the click of a button. That didn’t seem to hinder Bokuto’s excitement as he repeatedly complimented the picture and even said Tsukishima would be jealous of his skills, which was extremely doubtful to Akaashi but alright.

“It’s perfect.” Bokuto said again and then announced “I’m going to look at this every day. It’s going to be my home screen.”

“That’s certainly an option.”

Bokuto didn’t react to that as he busied himself in finding the perfect crop for their picture on his home screen. Once he was done though, he thrust his phone towards Akaashi to see. He had to admit, it was a nice photo, his attention immediately drawn to Bokuto who was in the foreground but then his eyes reached his own figure and he had to admit, they looked nice together. Maybe, just maybe with a bit of bias, this photo was his favorite.

“Akaashi.”

He handed the phone back. “Is something on your mind, Bokuto-san?”

“I want to spend forever with you.” A hand reached up to caress his cheek. 

How could you say that without a bit of hesitance? Every word in that statement meant, well _everything._ It meant commitment, it meant forever, it meant maybe they were fated to cross paths and meet. Akaashi took a moment to formulate a reply, tongue dry. He knew what he wanted, but was that selfish for him?

“I would love that too.”

“Stay with me?” 

A small smile.

* * *

Living with someone meant building a schedule around them. This is what they agreed to, what they willingly accepted with open arms. The comfort that came with routine looked like waking up around the same time, getting ready in the bathroom with a second person in the mirror, and learning how to alternate breakfasts. 

The domesticity of all this didn’t scare him anymore. 

Every moment was embedded in repetition and _knowing_ even though they still made him giddy every morning to be so lucky. They went about their days like that, their lives twisting together with one another like vines.

Time flew past them, more successful photo shoots than they could count on one hand, visiting Onigiri Miya for breakfast about on Mondays and Wednesdays because they both agreed it was the best, and the files that needed input slowly dwindled until it no longer loomed over their heads like the day they first got there. Everything was going so smoothly that one might even say it was the calm before the storm.

And that’s when he broke the routine.

“I have to go out for a bit, worry not, I’ll be back,” Akaashi whispered to the dark, pressing a chaste kiss on Bokuto’s forehead. Bokuto was fast asleep and didn’t even notice him slipping out of bed and sneaking his way out. Akaashi slipped on his coat and headed out of the apartment to a car shroud in darkness. There, at the edge of the street, was another figure. “Konoha.”

“Akaashi,” the other nodded in acknowledgement. “You submitted a break form?”

He scoffed as if to say _don’t treat me like a new recruit._ “Just for one day, I need to get something done.”

Konoha shrugged, “Suit yourself, your time is still on the line.”

Akaashi paused at the streetlight and peered back. “What’s your story? Why did you take up this job, Konoha? Why’d you also sell your time?”

The other man’s eyes widened and then dropped back down within a second, a sad look crossing his features. “Never took you to be the nosy type, I assume it’s your client’s influence hm? All these years you didn’t ask until now.” Konoha reached up and covered his eyes with his fingers, “Well, it’s nothing much, I just needed the money. Just like you, I was in debt.”

“No, I just didn’t ask till now because I thought I had forever to ask.” A nod of recognition. “And because we’re friends, I’ll pretend you’re telling the full truth.”

His eyes were covered but Akaashi saw Konoha’s jaw twitch at that remark. “You know me too well, Akaashi. Either way, it’s good to see so enthusiastic about the job after so long. I’ve known you for so long, it’s a pity.”

Akaashi huffed in the night, a puff of warm air clouding the space in front of his mouth, and turned back around to walk off into the street, not even bothering to wait for the light to change colors. “Don’t be sentimental on me now, I won’t be gone long. Take care of him for me.”

“And where are you heading?”

“To order some flowers.”

* * *

It was cold. That was the first thing Bokuto realized as he woke up. Not incredibly cold as the blanket was still over him, but a different type of cold. The second thing he noticed was that the sun was already shining and he had slept in much longer than intended because no one woke him up. It only hit him what it was when he squinted open his eyes and saw Akaashi missing. He shot out of bed, rushing to the kitchen and looked for Akaashi. But instead, he found someone else sitting on one of the kitchen chairs and scrolling through his phone.

Bokuto yelped and picked up whatever was closest to him-- it happened to be a frying pan-- and pointed it at the stranger. “Who are you? And how did you get in here?”

The man put down his phone and then put up his hands in mock surrender, “Calm down. Don’t you recognize this uniform?” That much was true, it was familiar. It was what Akaashi always wore, every day with no exception though Bokuto never asked where all the clothes were from. It was just one of the many mysteries of the shop. Either way, the reassurance was enough for him to set the pan back on the stove. “I’m filling in for Akaashi. Just for a day, he needed to get something done so I’m here instead.”

“Oh...he didn’t tell me.”

“Nah, he probably didn’t want to worry you, that’s it. My name’s Konoha by the way, not that you’ll need to remember it.”

That was a name he remembered from Akaashi’s stories. “ _You’re_ Konoha?”

Konoha tilted his head, eyes crinkling up but not suspicion, rather in amusement. He eventually laughed, “Akaashi, Akaashi, Akaashi, how could you speak behind my back like that. I hope he’s only said the best about me as his senior.”

“Mhmm, only good things. At least all I remember. Um, I’m Bokuto by the way--”

“So I’ve heard.” He raised an eyebrow, “From Akaashi.”

“Akaashi?”

A grin. “C’mon now, he’s not here, let’s not chant his name too many times lest we want him reappearing out of nowhere. Don’t mind that, what are you doing to do on this fine, fine Sunday?”

“Well first thing’s breakfast, well probably lunch at this hour but same thing, and then nothing really.” Bokuto’s stomach rumbling emphasized his point as he went about making his meal. Something simple just to keep him going through the day. “It’s Sunday after all, we um I mean I don’t have work today.”

“Of course Akaashi would never let me go to work with you. Heard you two are all buddy buddy with the people who work there. That’s great.”

“Well, everyone there is very nice. I was lucky to get that job.” It’s true, he just happened to know Kuroo and everything went not according to plan in the best way. But then again this wasn’t a day for work so why was he talking about it. He went about his routine like it wasn’t already halfway through the day and went to the bathroom after breakfast and tidied up, his guest saying nothing until he returned freshly out of the shower. 

“Either way, what do _you_ want to do?”

Konoha shrugged and then peered around the room till his eyes landed on a console by the television. “Got any good two player versus games?”

Bokuto grinned, “Oh you’re on.” 

A few hours later (with breaks because they were clearly responsible), the originally tidy living room was basically overturned by two grown adults playing a racing game. Maybe Bokuto should’ve considered his opponent before he turned on the console but that clearly didn’t happen. To be fair, they bought the used console ages back and only touched it once or twice; Akaashi said he wasn’t really the type to game. Playing with Akaashi was always calm too just by his mere presence, but with Konoha it was a real competition. It was shouting half hearted insults at one another and tight spins to beat one another.

“One more, I’ll get my revenge coward.”

“No way,” Bokuto laughed but then a telltale beeping noise from the remotes told them that wasn't going to happen. “Too bad, looks like they’re out of battery.” Konoha snorted accusingly and Bokuto raised his hands in surrender, “It’s not my fault these remotes haven’t been used in forever.”

Konoha repeated those words mockingly, but it was all in good spirit. He went back and flopped on the floor, “We should really clean this mess up shouldn’t we? Akaashi will be mad.”

Bokuto begrudgingly agreed and went to get the cleaning supplies. Then spent the next who knows how long cleaning and setting everything back in order so it would seem like nothing happened. Just on the surface level probably, there were still food crumbs in the carpet as far as they knew but hey that’s a different story.

“You’re real fun, has anyone told you that?”

“Probably. Akaashi said I was easygoing and got along with people easily, which is close.”

“So what would you do if I was your observer instead?”

Bokuto pondered that for a while but replied honestly, “I can’t pick. I also think you’re fun to have around and I haven’t had this much fun with games for a long time but Akaashi’s different. If I had known Akaashi was also an option, I would ask for him.”

That much was expected to Konoha, but he still joked, “Rude.”

“Nothing personal, it’s just fun only lasts so long, but what we have, isn’t.”

Konoha didn’t reply for a bit, staring off at the ceiling like the white expanse was that interesting. Like he was contemplating something much deeper. Finally, “I’m glad he found you. Akaashi I mean.” It wasn’t something Bokuto could reply to so he stayed silent, waiting for Konoha to elaborate why but that explanation never came. In fact, they didn’t bring up any serious topics the rest of the day, going back to surface level conversations. It was mysterious how fast that was brought up and then dropped. 

Only when midnight came rolling around did Konoha announce he had to leave. He got up from the couch with a grunt and went to escort himself out. “Well, this was entertaining. Maybe we’ll meet again in the future, but until then cherish the days you have left with Akaashi. I’ll be going.” 

Confused, Bokuto questioned, “Huh, left? Does he have to observe someone else soon?” 

“What?” Konoha whipped his head around, a mix of emotions dripping off his face: from confusion and disbelief to grief. “You-- you don’t know what Akaashi did?”

Bokuto shook his head, clearly out of the loop. “What do you mean?”

“Fucking hell Akaashi. No wonder you looked so confused. Well secret’s out,” Konoha sighed, turning back around and leaning against the doorframe, sending his mental apology to his coworker in advance. “Truth is, you didn’t have thirty years to sell. The day you came in, I checked the system after you left. Only a fraction of that lifespan was sold.”

Bokuto’s eyes darted to his card. “But then where’s all this money from?”

“Ask Akaashi. It’s not my place to say.”

* * *

Monday night, only a few minutes after Konoha had left, Akaashi returned. He assumed it was late enough and Bokuto would’ve been asleep so that he could sneak in unnoticed but as soon as he twisted the key, the door flew open in his face. Caught off guard, he stumbled back a few steps.

“What did he mean?”

Still startled, Akaashi asked, “What do _you_ mean?”

“What did he mean I didn't have thirty years to sell? Where is all this money from them? It adds up to thirty years of my life but he said I didn’t have that much.” Bokuto demanded in a frenzy, not in rage, but in desperation.

Ah, so that’s what it was. Ignoring the question temporarily, he ushered the both of them inside from the cold, gesturing for Bokuto to sit on the couch as he brewed them some tea. When the cups were ready, he joined Bokuto, scooting in right next to him so that their legs touched. He ran his hand down the other’s back.

“Have you calmed down a bit?”

A stiff nod that signified otherwise. “Just please, tell me the truth.”

The hurt in that question was evident. A pang of guilt hit him as refocused his eyes on his cup. “Truth is, you never had thirty years to sell off. When you requested it, I should have turned you down and told you it was impossible. Despite that, I didn’t.” He took a long sip, letting the scalding heat burn his tongue, “The money you got was ten years of your life and more than thirty of mine to make up for the difference. That leaves you plenty of time in the city, to achieve your dreams.”

“Truth is, I also was never supposed to observe you for so long. About three months is what we do, but seeing as I didn’t have the lifespan left to take another job, I was excused to stay here, even though you had already grown accustomed to this life. That’s my second lie.”

Bokuto didn’t move an inch. “I know it's a lot to take in, Bokuto-san.”

One word was whispered, “Why?” 

“Honestly, I’m not sure.” The truth was never pretty. “You deserved so much more than the years you had left. You were so hopeful, aspiring and I couldn’t stand by and do nothing. Maybe it was pity, maybe I just knew you were the one when you stepped into that door. It doesn’t matter because it was my choice, I chose to sell my life for you.”

Two hands reached and grabbed his arms, holding him down. The owner of those hands dipped his head between his arms, shaking, “I can’t just take, no borrow, your life like that. Let me pay you back at least, let me--”

His eyes widened at the words. Akaashi shoved the other off, standing abruptly, “Don’t you dare. I set you up here, to achieve your dreams. Can’t you see? If you sell the rest your life for me, what was this all _fucking_ for?” 

“Akaashi...”

“Don’t tell me all this is worthless. I’d rather you be happy than have to share the burden of my choices. My time. My life. Don’t say you’re living on borrowed time. I gave you this life because I chose to.” He was yelling, he knew he looked hysterical. But damn it, he wasn’t letting Bokuto sell the limited life he had left. Not like this. Only one of them had to go.

Bokuto’s hand fell onto his lap and then he finally looked up and saw the face of utter anguish on the person he swore to love. Reddened eyes trying to hold back the floodgates, chin tilted downwards in fear, mouth slightly parted as if they wanted to say something. 

And as he realized what he had just said, he wanted nothing more than to redo the moment. “No, no, I’m sorry for yelling at you. I didn’t mean it.” A heavy breath. 

“Bokuto-san, look here,” he began slowly this time, choosing his words carefully, “That would be a waste of both our efforts. Take the life you have and make something beautiful out of this. I know you can.” 

No response.

He continued, “Plus, your life was so much _more_ just by cost alone. You’re going to make plenty of people happy. You’re going to go far. And me? I’m nothing but a liar. I lied about the years you had left. I lied when I told you where the money was from. I lied when I told you how long I’ll stay. I’m not someone you should trust.”

“Was it all a lie then? All those times you’d say you would stay, were they a lie? Were we a lie?” Bokuto sobbed.

Akaashi couldn’t help but let his own tears fall, rolling down his cheek in an arc and stinging his face until it slid down and landed on his clothes. “I would never lie about my feelings. I really want to cherish you forever, that’s why I couldn't reply when you wanted forever. We were never a lie. Every time I told you I loved you, maybe not outloud, but through the ways I cared for every touch you gave, was not fake. I never told you that I loved you because I was afraid of what was eventually going to happen. All because of me.”

“You won’t be there for me any longer?” Bokuto pulled him in, fists curling into the back of his shirt, twisting them up into his balled up hands. “I won’t be able to hold you like this anymore? This can’t be real. You are my _everything._ ”

In another world, he would fake his smile and reassure him everything was alright, leaving one night unnoticed and fading away. Not this time though. This time, he was going to tell the truth. Not out of guilt anymore, but because he chose to. 

“I’ll live until my time contract runs out. And then both my time and lifespan will be over.”

Tails of tear stains soaked into his shirt from where Bokuto rested his head. Neither loosened their hold on the other until long after the coffee turned cold. Even when they parted, eyes dry and drooping, Akaashi felt his gaze drawn to the other, to the future they could’ve had together.

* * *

They made use of their remaining time. Well, Akaashi’s remaining time. Knowing his secret was out gave him a sense of relief yet dread. Not like sharing it changed his inevitable fate, but seeing Bokuto try to cherish every last second was heartbreaking. 

It came in small things like never leaving his side and trying to stay up later each night to get that extra word in. And in the end, he wasn’t sure if it was better off if Bokuto didn’t know. The energy he loved so dearly was still there yet muted and buried under a mound of other grievances. They tried to retain a sense of normalcy up till the last week. But once that time hit, they stayed in their home, intertwined with one another until the very last minute.

He was the first to acknowledge the clock on the wall, slowly ticking down to the end of his time and lifespan alike. “This is goodbye. Thank you, for all the time we shared together.” Silence. “Bokuto-san, come here.”

Akaashi reached up and intertwined his fingers in the other’s hair and leaned into a hug so he could lean his chin over Bokuto’s shoulder and hide his face. A deep breath from that position, “Hey, you’ll be fine. You have everything you need to be successful: money, time, and people around you to support you. I’m sure you’ll be alright, Bokuto-san.”

A sniff. “I was saving the money for us. But you...”

He flinched at the confession. “For us...”

“I wanted a future with you.” A future he had imagined so many times, but was never possible. Even if he didn’t sell his lifespan, they would eventually have to part. Akaashi bit his lip, wincing in pain but it allowed him to finish his parting statements.

“I'll still be watching over you from afar. I promise.”

Bokuto pulled apart and held Akaashi’s at arm’s length, gingerly like he was delicate. Like he was fragile. Like he was going to vanish any moment. He _was_ going to vanish, even more so than when he first stepped into that store to sell his time away. 

“Pinky promise?”

“Pinky promise.”

It was clear that Bokuto was holding back his tears now. And Akaashi knew if Bokuto started to cry, he would too. “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too,” he whispered back.

“Akaashi, will you properly date me, if we ever meet again?”

The lights were blinding, blurring in his vision now. A finger brushed his cheek as he said in his slightly hoarse voice, “Of course, I would love to.”

Akaashi broke contact first, pulling himself away like yanking two magnets apart. He took a gulp and slowly moved towards the door. With his back turned, he thought out loud, “It seems neither of us are too good at goodbyes.” 

A whisper, fainter than the wind. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to hear it at all. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

With that, Akaashi pulled open the door with his quaking hands and stepped foot outside. It wasn’t until the door shut behind him with a resounding click that he began walking away. When he first sold his lifespan, he never expected his parting to be so sorrowful. He had never planned to fall so deeply and even more so, never expected Bokuto would love him back. But even after the fact, he never thought his secret would be told and his plans to sneak out at the dead of night again would be foiled. Fate often worked in a messy way, he laughed into the night sky, staring at the stars for the last time in his life.

Konoha stepped out of a car to meet him. “Beautiful night, isn’t it?”

“I always wanted to go stargazing.”

“Seeing one star doesn’t quite count does it?”

A chuckle despite his eyes tearing up, “I suppose it doesn’t.”

“Are you ready?” Konoha asked as he swept his arm up in a flourish while opening the car door where Akaashi took his seat beside a bouquet of lilies. “Have you finished what you wanted? Any last words before we hit the road?”

It was a mystery to himself how he composed himself at that time enough to leave his instructions. “There’s still one more thing. I want you to hold onto this for me,” he held out his notebook that held all his notes on his thoughts and clients, “If he comes back to check, or I don’t know, give it to him. But give it some time.”

“And no parting gift for me?” Konoha teased as he took the book, despite his eyes focusing on the object handed to him rather than actually making fun of Akaashi.

“I--”

“We’ve been working for years together and this is the goodbye I get?” Konoha laughed soberly and set the notebook down next to him, in the passenger seat. Even as he turned the keys for the car, his eyes lingered at the notebook. His remarks didn’t hold his typical air of casualness. “I’m kidding you know? The shop won’t be the same without you.” 

“Right.”

Konoha shifted in the seat, turning to face Akaashi as the engine whirled to life, turning serious, “One last thing, _was it worth it?”_

Without even an ounce of hesitation: “Worth every last minute.”

* * *

The next morning, Bokuto woke to an empty bed, colder than when he opened the refrigerator to find something to heat up. He mindlessly went through his routine like any other day: made breakfast, got ready for the day, checked his texts and set off. Only halfway through the walk there did he realize there was nothing playing into the earbuds he wore over one ear.

He stopped at a red light and took it out of his ear, twirling the cord around his fingers, once around his thumb and then spinning that finger in circles till it cut off his circulation a bit. 

Some part of that shocked him, despite knowing it made less sense for it to not. He didn’t take too long to ponder over it as he slotted the messed up strands into his pocket and crossed the street to work, noting how he was a little later than usual, but did it really matter?

The receptionist greeted him as normal, beaming and wishing him a good day at work. That convinced him he was good at faking it, other than maybe his slightly puffy eyes, he thought he could pass it off and no one would ask. Well, maybe he could’ve if he wasn’t working with his friends. Kenma noticed something was off the moment he stepped in the room. In the end, it wasn’t his eyes that gave him away as Kenma just gestured towards his hands. Or rather his left hand. The fingers there were hanging limply with nothing to hold onto. 

A pang of hurt crossed Kenma’s eyes as he settled Bokuto down onto a couch in an extra room for storage. “Wait here.”

He sat there as instructed, tipping his face into his hands. The motions he could fake, but trying to hold onto nothing was impossible, he wasn’t an actor let alone a good enough one. Even if the shape of those hands were imprinted into his own, he could never attempt to fool anyone into holding nothing. And those hands will never feel the same warmth. 

He heard the door creak open again. Hinata entered, smiling as usual, though this time tinged with worry. Tsukishima followed, a silent observer as always. Hinata bowed, “Bokuto.” And a second time. “Akaashi.” There was no third person in the room though. Not that Hinata could see. Hinata saw the resistance and sat down next to Bokuto, “Was that the wrong side for Akaashi?”

He forced a smile, “No he would be on that side--” but when he looked to the direction where Hinata just bowed towards, there was no one there. Not a single reassuring smile to tell him it was going to be alright. Not like it was ever going to be alright. And he broke down all over again. “We just, I just, he’s not here.”

“Did you two break up? That’s terrible, you two were meant to be,” Kuroo tsked, though lightheartedly, entering the room and putting a reassuring arm over Bokuto’s back.

“Kuroo,” Kenma warned, coming in with his childhood friend.

No, they never broke up. Breaking up meant falling apart, the loss of feelings, but none of that was true. If anything, it just made him more sure that Akaashi was _the one_. And they promised to love each other once again. “It’s more like he’s somewhere far away now, and done.” The implications in that were clear enough, even to anyone that didn’t know about the shop’s deals. The tense silence was broken with a notification chime from his phone.

> Onigiri God: its monday, we didn’t see ya this morn’

> Onigiri God: come by for some onigiri kay? we made extras for aka

Typing out a quick affirmative, he tapped out of the message and tried to smile back at his friends, tell them he was alright. Lie to them. But his eyes felt heavy and his head didn’t want to lift higher than it already was. Leaving his messages sent him to his home screen; he stopped to fondly look at the picture he set there. It was the two of them, happily together. But to anyone else, it would just look like--

“Is that Akaashi? He looks exactly like I expected him to,” Tsukishima spoke up.

He blinked, staring back entirely confused.

“On your home screen,” Tsukishima elaborated despite the whole room staring at him in a ‘how do you know’ type of sense, “That’s him right? You told me once how he looked, and that’s exactly what I imagined him to be like.”

Bokuto shot out of his seat, grabbing his shoulders with such force it sent the other wobbling back a few steps. “You can see him? You can see him?!”

The rest of the people in the room huddled around and all mirrored that surprise, looking at Bokuto’s home screen and seeing not one, but two individuals there, smiling at the camera. Bokuto watched as each one saw. Saw Akaashi for everything he was. He wanted to cry, but this time for an entirely different reason. Why? Why could they see Akaashi now? He racked his head for reasons why and a voice he so vividly remembered saying: 

_I’ll only live until my time contract runs out. And then both my time and lifespan will be over. When my debt of time is up, I suppose the world will be able to see me again._

With that, he couldn’t help it anymore, rushing to his friends and holding them close. “He’s here. He’s still here. He’s--”

“C’mon now you big crybaby, you two lovebirds can smooth over anything, go get your boyfriend back,” Kuroo chuckled.

All fired up again, Bokuto shouted into the air, or alternatively into everyone’s ears as they were still bundled up in a hug. “Akaashi! I’ll come find you again! Just you wait! We’ll meet again, one day. I swear on my _life_.”

“Now that sounds like the Bokuto I know,” Kenma snorted, “Now back to work, all of you. I’m the one paying you all anyway.” They all chuckled at that. Kuroo especially made fun of that because he wasn’t getting paid. Bokuto took this time to wipe the tears from his face and pull the earbuds back out, draping the cord over his neck though not putting the earbud in quite yet.

They all left the room shortly after, Bokuto suddenly feeling much lighter surrounded by people he loved. Akaashi was right, Akaashi was always right. He found a place in this world, friends that would stay by him during his highs and lows alike. They’d never replace the love he felt for Akaashi, but he never intended to change that. As the door shut behind him, a faint tinkle of a bell chimed from behind.

That’s strange, he thought, turning, the door had no bell.

When he turned, he caught a glimpse of a certain man in a familiar uniform, watching from afar with a black notebook in hand right before the door slammed shut.

* * *

The last page of the notebook held a card-- the card every customer of the shop held-- a photograph of a man holding up an empty ramen bowl, and a message.

 _This is my final passage in my notebook_.

 _I have less than 24 hours left_ . _And past all these notes that I’ve written, I hope you find this one day. I hope you understand that part of you remains with me_.

 _One thing I regret is never calling you by your name_ . _I feared that if I did, I wouldn’t be able to leave. But if we ever meet again, I want to say it aloud. Yell it into the starry sky_.

 _I’m sad, of course I’m sad to leave you_.

 _I never wanted to take your happiness with me_ . _I wanted to give you more, I wanted to give you the world. There was so much I didn’t consider that moment you stepped into the store_ . _I was mesmerized, star struck, and reckless. I never expected you to love me back_ . _I never expected to have these times with you, but I find it fitting. My last everything goes to you_.

 _You’ll be getting this years into the future, and by then I hope you understand_. 

_Maybe in this world, we can sell our time, health, and lifespan away just like that_ . _Maybe on these standards we can say my life was worth that much less than yours_ . _And maybe this world runs on the need for money_.

 _But, even if the system is flawed beyond repair, I would never regret it_ . 

_The memories we had together. Those were priceless_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t ask me how you’re supposed to feel about the end, implied he went back to see Konoha years later and got the notebook. Any other questions about the plot/implications please ask I put so much thought into this mess I can 100% write a full analysis on it if I had time.
> 
> Food for thought: Y'know how canon Bokuto’s like “I plan to live till I’m 130 y/o? Well, i think he just overestimates how long he has to live thus doesn’t rlly see how much 30 years is...
> 
> Um OH YEAH Osamu, what's up with Osamu? *smiles* I'm glad you asked because guess who's getting a spin-off. Osamu who sold his health and Suna who sold his time. It'll take a while for me to finish but I wrote the ending already and I love it so it's going to happen. (Update: 10K words in oh dear what have I done) Oh also I have thought of a mini side story explaining Konoha but that'll probably not come any time soon so don't expect it...
> 
> Yeah that's it for this fic, 26K words, months of work bc I'm slow but yay! Oh right, if you got anything from this fic, just promise me no one's about to sell their life if they got the chance, alright? *insert poor life decisions tag*


End file.
